Become ONE
by Cowboy Alchemist
Summary: All Riflemen Cadet Marcus Moore wanted was to become a Titan Pilot. He got his wish, but not how he wanted it to happen. After being taken to an unknown planet, Marcus and his Titan will fight alongside his friends when they've been chosen by a princess to command Voltron, the most powerful weapon ever made. They will defend not just the Frontier, but the universe from evil. AU R&R
1. RC-2049 and Voltron

**Hello readers and welcome to my** _ **Voltron: Legendary Defender**_ **/** _ **Titanfall 2**_ **crossover: "Become ONE"**

 **This is going to be a really interesting one to work on, due to the fact that I've just started** _ **Voltron**_ **and I'm a huge fan of both** _ **Titanfall**_ **games.** _ **Titanfall 2**_ **being my favorite, of course.**

 **Now, the reason I say that this is a crossover with** _ **Titanfall 2**_ **is because I'll be using the campaign of the game for the story.**

 **This story is also going to be AU. One of the biggest major changes in this is where the five Paladins are from and the location of the Blue Lion. That means the characters aren't going to be from Earth, they'll be from the Frontier and they'll find the Blue Lion on a planet I'll make. This planet will be where the Garrison is, and the cadets will be a part of the Militia.**

 **I'll try and explain some things from the** _ **Titanfall**_ **series, but not too much. Not much information and background about the** _ **TF**_ **universe is explained out loud in the games, but I'll do my best. For more information, I recommend going online or on the Titanfall** _ **Wiki**_ **.**

 **And of course, if you read this story and never played** _ **Titanfall**_ **or** _ **Titanfall 2**_ **but are interested in it, I** _ **HIGHLY**_ **recommend playing the second game! It is a great game! The first game was great too, but was lacking a campaign story and other content. The second game has all that and more. A** _ **great**_ **campaign and** _ **awesome**_ **multiplayer.**

 **Sorry I went a little fanboy there, but trust me, it's a** _ **fantastic**_ **game.**

 **The main pairing of this crossover is OC/Princess Allura.**

 **Finally, to keep the feeling of** _ **Titanfall**_ **, this will be a POV story.**

 **This is going to be the longest chapter I've ever done for a story, given that the pilot episode of** _ **Voltron**_ **is well over an hour.**

 **And with that out of the way, let's start the show.**

* * *

I was only ten when my home became a warzone.

Of all the things I saw that day, I'll never forget the feeling in me when I laid my eyes on the true dominate force on the battlefields of the Frontier: the Pilot.

I remember being in awe seeing how the Pilot was fast and agile. Graceful, yet devastating. Perceptive…resourceful…and relentless.

The Pilot saw the world differently. Able to turn sheer walls into flanking routes. He fought differently from the other soldiers. He was experienced in deception and maneuver…even turning overwhelming odds in his favor.

But what I knew truly separated the Pilot from the grunts and machines on both sides of the battlefield…was the bond between him and his Titan.

I saw that when linked to a Titan, a Pilot can only be stopped by overwhelming force…or an equal.

I may have born on Earth, the Frontier has been the only home I've ever known. For years, our lands have been destroyed by the IMC…forcefully taking our resources…polluting and destroying our planets…and killing us off if we tried to resist.

Despite our victories at the Battle of Demeter and beyond, we've still have a long way to go before the IMC is defeated.

That's why I joined the Militia as a Rifleman: to fight to free the Frontier.

But on that day, when I saw that Pilot and his Titan fighting…I knew that I wanted to be just like him.

I'm a long way from becoming a Pilot…but when that day comes…no matter what happens…I hope I can live up to the honor.

* * *

 **Moore's Logbook:**

 _The planet Trident is the training grounds for everyone wanting to become a part of the Frontier Militia. No real civilian presence, only a few large facilities for training future fighters and personnel._

 _It's here that I met my Pilot trainer Captain Oscar Quinton, a master level Pilot. Why he wanted to train me, I don't know, but this was an opportunity that I would be crazy to pass up._

 _Now, I was to help my team with a "mission": To rescue Commander Samuel Holt, his son, Matt Holt, and Titan Pilot Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane, after losing contact with them on the ice moon Hex one year ago._

* * *

" **RC–2049 and Voltron"**

"Jump Tower, this Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Request permission to initiate Jump to Hex for rescue mission. Over."

" _Copy that, Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Stand by for clearance. Over."_

"How's the Jump Drive, Hunk?"

"It's all good, Marcus. All we need is for Pidge to set the Jump coordinates."

"Already did it. We're ready to go, Lance."

"… _Jump Tower to Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango: You are clear to initiate Jump Sequence. Over."_

"Thank you very much. Out. …Jumping in 3…2…1…mark!"

After the flash of white light went away, I was able to see again.

Walking over to one of the side windows of the Crow dropship we were in, I looked out to see the surface of the ice moon Hex. That meant the Jump was a success.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw the rest of the four man crew was working with today. I was the only "Grunt", as other's called guys like me, one board. The other three were the pilot, the engineer, and the communications specialist. We all were all wearing combat modified jumpsuits-like clothing, the only difference was that I was wearing combat gear.

I had on the armor that they usually issue to Riflemen, with a helmet. I was almost equipped with a V-47 Flatline assault rifle that I had in my hands for when we got to the surface. The old nonmilitary thing I could think of that I had on was a tan shemagh I wore around my neck.

"Alright everyone, we've made it to Hex. Begin descent for our rescue mission of Commander Samuel Holt and crew," said Lance, our pilot. He was a lean guy about two years younger than me with light brown skin, short brown hair, thin eyebrows, and blue eyes that are notably drawn with small irises and pupils.

He jerked the Crow into a steep dive, having us descended towards the ice moon. The sudden movement made me widened my stand to keep balance.

However, atmospheric entire didn't seem to sit well with our engineer, Hunk. Hunk was heavy-set to say the least and was the same age as Lance, with medium brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes with thick, square-shaped eyebrows. He was also wearing an orange strip of cloth tied around his forehead that was long enough to reach his mid-back.

His around face looked nauseous, as his hands launched on to his foldout seat. "Augh. Lance, can you keep this thing straight," he asked.

"Relax, Hunk, I'm just getting a feel for the stick," he told him, before smirking mischievously. Oh no. "I mean it's not like I did _this!_ "

Lance jerked the Crow downwards, making Hunk groan and forcing me to release my grip on my rifle, letting it hang from my waist, and using both hands to grab onto one of the handlebars above my head.

"Or _this!_ "

Lance again jerked the dropship. This time to the right. Now Hunk was feeling ill. That's it. I had about enough of the cocky bastard's horsing around. "Lance! _Knock it off_ ," I exclaimed. "Unless you wanna wipe Hunk's beef stroganoff out of every the little nooks and crannies in this thing."

Suddenly the military laptop in the lap of the comm spec, Pidge, was activated, along with a computer monitor that extended out of the Crow's wall and angled towards him. Now Pidge was a surprise to me. For someone in the Militia, he was fairly small and slim and was about 15. It wasn't unheard of for young people to have joined, but that was before Demeter, before we really started to become a force to be reckoned. He had short and messy light brown hair that reached down to his neck and curved in all directions, brown eyes, and fair skin with circular glasses.

Looking at it, Pidge saw an arrow pointing down to a location on the virtual map. "We've picked up a distress signal," he told the crew.

"See if you can track the coordinates, Pidge," I told him. "This could be what we're looking for."

"Copy," Pidge said and start rapidly tapping on the keyboard of the laptop, trying to lock onto the signal.

"Hey!" Lance looked over his seat and glared at me as he demanded, "Who the hell put you in charge?" The Crow started to rumble and the alarms started blaring. Lance quickly looked back forward and looked over his systems.

Jesus, why couldn't Keith have kept his mouth in check? Anyone's better than this yahoo!

"Watch where you're going Lance, please!" pleaded Hunk, increasingly nauseous and unease.

"Oh, this one's on you, buddy," Lance told him smugly. "We've got a hydraulic stabilizer out."

I watched while hanging on the handlebar Hunk quickly pulled out a monitor next to him out of the wall and looked it. However, he suddenly had to choke down vomit that was ready to come out. "Oh no—"

Oh shit. "Hold it in, buddy," I told him. "Fix the hydraulic stabilizer or we're in big trouble."

"I lost contact," Pidge told us, as the Crow continued rumbling. "The shaking is interfering with our sensors."

"Come on, Hunk," exclaimed Lance, as the engineer continued to try and fix it from the monitor.

"It's not responding. Ugh..." Realizing that it wasn't going to work like that, Hunk unbuckled himself from the seat and went around me, as I patted him on the back. Leaning down to near where Pidge was sitting, he opened a panel that led to the main gearbox.

In the cockpit, Lance's monitor displayed the location of the signal. "Oh, never mind, fellas. Thar she blows," he told us confidently. "Preparing for approach on visual."

My eyes widened a little before I said, "Lance, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Agree. I don't think that's advisable with our current mechanical and..." Pidge stopped for a moment when he heard Hunk choking down his vomit again. "…gastrointestinal issues."

"Yeah, I second that," the big guy said.

"Stop worrying. This baby can take it," Lance told us before patting the Crow. "Can't you, champ?" He flinched when the dropship shook violently. "Uh, see? She was—she was nodding. She was nodding."

I sighed exasperatedly before turning to Pidge. "Pidge, hail down to them and let them know help's come."

Pidge did as I told and unbuckled himself from his seat, before standing on it to reach the microphone above him. "Attention lunar vessel—Uwah!" He yelled when the Crow shook again, sending Pidge falling and hitting the floor.

"What are you doing? Buckle your belt," Lance told him, to which Pidge's expression turned to annoyance before I reached down with a hand and helped him stand back up.

"Hunk," I said, as Pidge went back to his seat. "Get this ship stable!"

"I-I'm try—ah-ah," Hunk stopped when he couldn't take it anymore, "o-oh no—!" He vomited straight into the main gearbox and the rumbling stopped. Oh, what do you know?

"Attention lunar vessel," Pidge said into the microphone, as Hunk closed the gearbox and went back to his seat, "this is Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango. Coming in for landing and extraction, against crew recommendations." He and I looked at Lance in the cockpit with annoyance. That's right, we're looking at you, pal.

"Uh, no time for your mutinous comments now, Pidge," Lance argued. "They're going under and we're going in." He dived the Crow towards Hex's surface. But as we made our way down, a narrow ice overhang appeared before us.

"Look out for that overhang," exclaimed Pidge as he and Hunk looked frightened. Even I was starting to panic. Lance was a _cargo_ pilot before being transferred to fighter!

"No worries," Lance told them, looking at his teammates from the side of his seat. "My first year in flight school, you know what they called me? They called me 'The Tailor' because of how I _thread the needle_." He looked forward and angled the Crow slightly on its side, causing Pidge and Hunk to yell from the steep angle they were being forced into. All I could do was let my feet dangle as I hung onto the handlebars for dear life. "Come around, come around! Come on, come on—!"

However, it wasn't enough and the dropship stroke the overhang with its wing, causing it to jump violently, while red lights flashed and alarms blared. Because I wasn't in a seat, the strike threw my body up into the ceiling, causing pain. Then more pain was caused when I was thrown against the floor.

"We lost a wing," Hunk exclaimed, looking out of the side window he was next to. I didn't listen to him and just braced myself against the wall of the ship.

"Oh, man..." Lance groaned.

The Crow dived toward the surface of Hex before crashing. All I could be was shut my eyes and wait another jolt and for me to be slammed up against the side of the ship again.

However it never came.

I opened my eyes when a robotic voice was sounded in the dropship.

" _ **Simulation Failed."**_

I sighed and took off my helmet. Thank God it was over. Machine and mechanical noises were heard all around the ship.

With my helmet off, my face was able to be seen. I'd say I was an averagely handsome young man who was a 19 year old Caucasian male. My body was athletic built for combat, due to years of training before joining the Militia. I had short and unkempt black hair that reached down to my neck. Eyes were a bluish-green color, and I had a small cut over my right eyebrow.

I rolled my shoulders as they ached from the impacts with a ceiling and floor. "That was way too realist for just a simulator," I groaned.

"Nice work, Tailor," Pidge groaned to Lance, and rightfully so. The simulator doors opened in the back of the craft and standing there on the other side was Commander M. Iverson of the Militia's 41st Militia Rifle Battalion.

"Roll out, donkeys," he ordered us cadets.

Oh yeah, that's right. We're not soldiers yet. You think they'll let someone as young as Pidge out on the battlefield.

Well…

Anyways, we're cadets. Enlistments in the Frontier Militia.

We groaned while walking out of the modified Crow that was hooked up a gyroscope machine inside of one of the large Militia training facilities, the Garrison. Soon, Lance, Pidge, I, and Hunk were standing before Iverson and our fellow cadets. We looked down shame and failure.

"Now then," Iverson said to the other cadets. "Let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students. Can anyone point out the mistakes these three so-called cadets made in the simulator?"

One student raised his hand. "The engineer puked in the main gearbox!"

"Yes, as everyone knows, vomit is _not_ —" Iverson snapped his head towards Hunk, making him flinch "—an approved lubricant for engine systems," he said before looking back at the cadets. "What else?"

"The Comm Spec removed his safety harness," one female cadet said.

"The Rifleman attempted to take command of the situation?"

Really? That's the best you could've come up with?

"The pilot crashed!"

We have a winner!

"Correct. And worst of all, the whole jump, they're arguing with each other," Iverson exclaimed as he snapped his head towards me and my friends. "Heck, if you're going to be this bad individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a _team_ on the battlefield! The Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of soldiers and ship crews for the 41st Militia Rifle Battalion, but these kind of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the men on the Hex Expansion Mission."

That seemed to make Pidge upset and he snapped at the Commander. "That's not true, sir!"

"What did you say?!" Iverson snapped back.

Lance quickly clasped his hand over Pidge's mouth. "Sorry, sir! I-I-I think he may have hit his head when he fell out of his chair," he said as Pidge's muffled voice could be heard from his hand. "But point taken." Lance let him go and the two stood straight again.

"I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason your here is that the best pilot in you're class had a discipline issue and flunked out," Iverson told him sternly. "Don't follow in his footsteps."

"Alright, Commander," said a new voice. One I knew and made me almost smile. "I think you've harassed the kids long enough." We turned our heads towards the direction of the other cadets. But we weren't focused on them. Walking through the crowd was a Militia Titan Pilot, causing the students looked at him in wonder and whispered to each other.

The Pilot was Captain Oscar Quinton, one of the best Pilots in the Frontier. He was an early 50 year old man with light tan skin with a pink complexion, with a scar on his left cheek. He had gray hair that was cut short and spiked up a little, dark goatee, and dark eyes. His attire was a similarity to the Militia's Battle Rifle Pilot uniform and was colored in the colors of the Militia, along with his helmet that had an X-shaped visor that he carried with his left arm.

"Captain Quinton," I said with a smile.

"Hey, Moore," Quinton said with a small grin. That's my name, Marcus Moore. "Good to see that you're not too banged up."

"Captain," Iverson said. "I'd appreciate if you leave the training of the cadets to me."

"You're forgetting, Iverson, that you have _my_ student in your battalion, too," Quinton countered. "And all I can to tell him was that lessons today are cancelled because of something that came up."

That almost surprised me a little, but all that much. He was a Pilot, an elite soldier and operator of a Titan, mech-style robots that were one of the most advanced weapons ever made. Lastimosa was one of the best Pilots, so no wonder he was the first one they'd call to help assist them with almost any given situation.

"Ah yes." Iverson walked up to Quinton. "Your _prodigy_. Let me remind you that while you may think that Cadet Moore's going to go on to be the youngest Pilot there's ever been, he's still a Rifleman Cadet under my command. Until that time, he's still a Rifleman."

Lastimosa smirked at him, as their bodies were a foot away from each other. "And it wouldn't be long," he said before walking away.

Iverson wasn't wrong about the prodigy part. I wasn't really trying to please anyone, except maybe those I needed to in order to pass Pilot Certification, but many veteran Pilots in the Marauder Corps and even SRS said that I was a gifted young man that had the potential of being one of the best. In the Pilot's Gauntlet, a simulated training course by neural linking, I was able to learn the Jump Kit and how to maneuver in it greatly. I'll tell you, the training was long and difficult, with a failure rate of more than 98%, but I pushed on. Yesterday, Quinton said that I've more than proven myself.

Today was to be my next and near final training lesson: practicing with a Titan.

But it looks like it'd have to wait for another time.

Lance, Pidge, and Hunk looked at me curiously, wondering why he cancelled training. All I could do was shrug my shoulders.

* * *

As the sun went down for the desert planet of Trident, the Militia Garrison was beginning to shut down.

"Lights out in five!" Iverson told everyone in the corridor as he walked by. "Everyone back to their dorms, now." However, unbeknownst to him, Lance, Hunk, and I were hiding behind one of the corners, watching the Commander walk away and the curfew beginning. The two of them were now just wearing jumpsuits with jackets over them. I on the hand was wearing a crimson suit that Captain Quinton gave me for our training.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Hunk whispered.

"You heard Commander Iverson. We need to bond as a team," Lance said arrogantly. "We're going to grab Pidge, hit the town, loosen up, meet some nice girls, maybe—"

When the lights in the hallway went out, I said rhetorically, "Maybe get caught and be suspected of treason or shot on sight. Unlike you, Lance, I worked hard to get to where I am. All the way when I was _13_ and now I'm this close to becoming a real Pilot." Lance however didn't listen and sneaked through the hallway. I sighed in exasperation and motioned for Hunk to follow. "Come on."

The two of us followed the cadet pilot as he stopped just next to a window that showed the Instructor's Lounge. "You know, for someone who wants to become the next big-name Pilot, you don't have much of a sense of adventure, Marcus," Lance told me. "I bet I could be one in no time."

"All of your little 'adventures' end up with me in the principal's office," Hunk said to him, as Lance went low to the ground to avoid being seen by any of the instructors. I and the big man followed his lead and started crawling on the floor.

"And being a Pilot is no joke, Lance," I hissed at him. "They'd never go for a hotshot-wannabe like you. It takes years to be one."

After passing the window, we got back up. But then heard footsteps coming our way. So we quickly hid inside of three recycling cans.

Inside, I gently opened the lid to see through a tiny crack of space. When I saw the uniform of a Grunt out of the corner of my eye, I closed the lid completely.

The footsteps past us was the guard saying: "L-5 North all clear."

Afterwards, Lance and I got out of our cans with ease, but Hunk, being the heavier one of our group, was having trouble getting out of his. I went over to help him. Grabbing him and trying to pull him out, but the result was Hunk topping over and landing on me. Man was he heavy! He quickly got up and said, "I'm fine."

"Good for you," I grunted as he stood up. However, when I looked down the hallway, I the door to Commander Iverson's office open. Thinking fast, I grabbed Lance and Hunk by their jackets and pulled them into another hallway.

Looking over the corner, I was surprised to see Pidge with a backpack exiting the office and out Iverson. The small teen pressed the button to close the door behind him and then ran down the hall.

"Where is he's going," I asked with suspicion.

The three of us followed Pidge as he went on to the roof of the Garrison. Once there, Pidge sat with his legs crossed near the edge and took out of his backpack a radio of some sort, headphones, and other special equipment. Placing the headphones over his ears, Pidge closed his eyes and listened closely.

Lance kneeled down behind him and carefully said into his ear, "You come up here to rock out?"

Startled, Pidge yelled as he turned around and saw Lance and me standing behind him, while Hunk was crawling towards us slowly, trying to avoid being seen by the guards. After realizing it was only us, he straightened himself and looked at us with wide eyes. "Oh, Lance, Hunk, Marcus. No, um, just looking at the stars," he lied.

"Yeah," I said sarcastically. "Sure you did. Just like you weren't exiting out of Iverson office." Pidge flinched at that.

"Hey, where'd you get this stuff," Lance asked, as Hunk's head popped over the pilot cadet's shoulder to see for himself. "It doesn't look like Militia tech."

"I built it," Pidge said proudly.

"You built all this?" Hunk crawled over to touch one of the equipment, only for Pidge to smack his hand away.

"Stop it!" Pidge looked back at Lance and me. "With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edges of the Frontier."

"Right," I said and crossed my arms. "And that means all the way to Hex?" Pidge didn't respond and looked away. "Okay, Pidge, what's going on? You always get angry whenever the instructors bring up that expedition mission." Hunk crawled to equipment again and started messing with a small radio dials, earning him an annoyed expression from Pidge.

"Yeah," Lance said. "What's your deal?"

"—Second warning Hunk!" Pidge yelled at him.

"Aww…" Hunk stopped.

"Look, Pidge, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets," Lance told him.

"Fine," Pidge sighed out, before looking at the two of us over his shoulder. "Life on the Frontier is about to change, and not because of the war. The Hex Mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake—"

Hunk went to touch the equipment again. Seriously, man. That's this is going to be three times now.

"—STOP TOUCHING MY EQUIPMENT!"

Hunk groan, but finally desisted as he fell over and laid on his side.

I then said to Pidge, "Go on."

"... So I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter," he said.

"Whoa, what?" Hunk sprung up with surprise. "Aliens?!"

"Here," I pointed his fingers to the floor. "In the Frontier?" I mean, sure, humanity has encountered many weird, wonderful, and terrifying alien species on the planets we colonized, but advance intelligent aliens?

"OK, so you're insane," Lance said. "Got it."

"I'm serious!" Pidge picked up a notebook and showed us a drawing of a person with a sword and some other random sketches and flames with the word _Voltron_ written on it. "They keep repeating one word: 'Voltron'. And tonight, it's going crazier than I have _ever_ heard it."

"What do you mean," I asked before their attention was caught by the facility's alarms blaring. That's not good.

" _Attention, students."_ Commander Iverson voice was heard over the intercom. _"This is not a drill. We are on lockdown! Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: All cadets are to remain in barracks until further notice."_

Acting on instinct, I looked up and scanned the skies, attempting to search for any IMC ships that might come out of Jump. It was something I did whenever similar alarms were sounded after the Remnant Fleet, the IMC's main surviving military after Demeter attack my home on Harmony. However, instead of finding any ships, I spotted a fiery object coming towards the surface of Trident. I felt fear creep into my body. "Is that a Titan?!" I exclaimed, pointing towards the object.

The other three looked up towards it. Pidge quickly grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked up at the object. "It's a ship," he exclaimed, before Lance took the binoculars and looked at the object for himself, while Pidge was hanging from them.

"Holy crow!" He exclaimed, taking in the alien design of it. "I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's _not_ one of ours or anything the IMC has!"

"No," Pidge said with a small smile. "It's one of theirs."

"So wait, there really _are_ aliens out there?!" Exclaimed Hunk.

"We're about to find out," I said as the four of us watched the alien spacecraft descending towards the surface at high speeds before crashing into the desert. We then watch as a few Samson assault trucks were sent out of the Garrison, heading towards the crash site.

Pidge quickly put away his equipment in his bag and put it on before looking at us with an excited face. "We've gotta see that ship," he exclaimed before running towards the doors.

I had to say that I agreed with him. I don't know why, but it felt right. So I ran after Pidge. Followed by Lance, who called back to Hunk. "Hunk, come on!"

"Oh, this is the worst team-building exercise ever," the engineer cadet complained before running after us.

* * *

When we arrived at the crash site, the four of us had set ourselves on a nearby cliff. The impact site was quarantined, with a large dome tent, with the Samsons near it.

Lance was laying on his stomach and used the binoculars to see what was going on. I was kneeling next to him, scanning the crash site as well without the binoculars. Hunk was watching our backs for anyone that might come up behind us. And Pidge was using his equipment.

"Whoa..." Lance said. I was shocked as well. Looking at the ship craft that was hooked onto a trailer attached to one of the assault trucks, I saw that the ship's form was unlike anything I've ever seen before, with a black and gray body with gluing purple light. "What the heck is that _thing_?!" He then looked towards the entrance of quarantine tent. "... And who the heck is _she_?"

Looking to where he was looking, I could see a female officer and knew what he was doing. "Lance!" I hissed and hit him over the head for ogling the female officer.

"Ow! Ah, right, alien ship." He then sighed and took the binoculars away from his face. "Man, we'll never get past all those guards to get a look."

"Aw, man. Yeah, we—yeah I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?" Hunk tried to convince us to go back to the Garrison. Maybe he was right.

"Wait. They set up a camera in there and I grabbed its feed," Pidge told them, prompting me and the other two to look at the laptop monitor. "Look!"

My eyes widened when I saw what was inside the tent. "…No way."

Inside the tent were three personal in white hazmat suits. Two were standing near a table where they had someone strapped to it. The person was a tall and broad-shouldered young Japanese man who was in his early 20's with pale skin. He had black hair shaven into an undercut with short white bangs centered on his forehead, gray eyes, and across the bridge of his nose was a thin scar.

That person was Takashi "Shiro" Shirogane.

" _Hey! What are you doing,"_ demanded Shiro. He sounded like he was in a state of panic.

" _Calm down, Shiro,"_ said one of the men, who sounded like Commander Iverson. _"We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests on you."_

" _You have to listen to me,"_ Shiro exclaimed, struggling to break out of his bonds. _"The Frontier. Core System. We're no longer safe! They destroyed worlds! Aliens are coming!"_

What?

"That's Shiro!" Lance pointed at the monitor. "The Titan Pilot of the Hex Mission. That guy's my hero!"

"Guess he's not dead in space after all," said Hunk.

"Where's the rest of the crew," asked Pidge.

"And what's that about destroying worlds," I asked, frowning at the screen. If what Pidge said about aliens was true, then it's safe to assure that they weren't coming in peace.

" _Do you know how long you've been gone,"_ asked Iverson.

" _I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's_ no time _. Aliens are coming here to Trident for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us! We have to find Voltron!"_

"Voltron!" Pidge exclaimed in shock, as we were also shocked to hear the name too.

" _Sir, take a look at this,"_ said one of the technicians. _"It appears his arm has been replaced with a cyborg prosthetic."_

I looked closer at the screen and saw that indeed Shiro now had a right prosthetic arm. What did those aliens do to him?

" _Put him under until we know what that thing can do,"_ Iverson ordered, causing Shiro to panic again.

" _Don't, don't be me under! No! No, there's no time! Let me go!"_

After Shiro was knocked out, Pidge said in a depressed tone, "They didn't ask about the rest of the crew."

"What are they doing? The guy's a legend," Lance said indignantly. "They're not even gonna listen to him?"

I agreed with Lance. Shiro knows about something that's coming and the guys weren't even going to hear what he had to say. The Frontier could be in danger for all we know! "Okay, new plan," I said, standing up and cracking my knuckles. "We're getting him out."

Hunk however, stood up and held his hands up. "Ah, I hate to be the voice of reason here, always, but weren't we are just watching on TV because there was _no way_ to get past the guards," he asked, gesturing from the monitor to the tent.

"That was before we were properly motivated," Lance told him. "We've just got to think. Could we tunnel in?"

"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs," Pidge said.

"Or we dress up like cooks, sneak into the commissary... little late-night snack," suggested Hunk.

I looked deadpan at him. Really, Hunk? "... No," I said before placing my chin on my fist. "What we need is a distraction." And as if God was granting me my wish, a series of explosions went off in the distance, making us scream.

"Is that the aliens?!" Hunk exclaimed, before lying down on the ground with his knees to his chest and his hands on his head. "Are—Tha—The—Is that the aliens?! Are they here?! They got here so quick!"

"No," Pidge said, with his hands over his eyes as he stared at something. "Those explosions were a distraction, for _him_!" I looked at where he was pointing and saw a lone hovercraft flying towards the quarantine tent and hiding behind some large rocks, while several of the Samsons went towards the blasts. "The Militia's headed towards the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side!"

Taking the binoculars from Lance, I viewed through them as the person arriving at the crash zone. I was surprised to see the familiar red, white, and yellow jacket of a familiar lean teenager who was a year younger than me with pale skin, fairly thick eyebrows, blue-gray eyes, and black hair cut in a mullet. I'd never forget that mullet. "Keith?"

"What!?" Lance exclaimed indigently. "Give me those!" He snacked the binoculars from me and looked through them at Keith. "No way...! Oh, he is _not_ going to beat us in there! That guy is always trying to one-up me!"

Oh, come on. Not this

Pidge asked, "Whose Keith?"

"The guy that was supposed to be our pilot before dropping out," I explained to him, "and he's Lance's…" I used air quotes "…'rival'."

"Come on!" Lance said as he and Hunk ran towards the tent. Pidge and I soon followed.

After arriving at the quarantined crash site, we quickly ran over to the tent and went through the entrance. After going down the narrow hallway, we arrive at the main area of the tent and saw Keith trying to carry Shiro out with by having an arm over his shoulder.

"Well," I said with a smirk, crossing my arm. My voice seemed to startle Keith, who looked at me with surprise. "Look who came crawling out of the woodworks."

"Marcus," Keith asked, surprised to see me. Acting quickly, I walked over to help him carry Shiro. "What are you doing here?"

"Doesn't matter," I said, lifting Shiro over his shoulder. "We're here to help you."

"Hold on," Lance exclaimed, before pointing between the two of us accusingly. "You two know each other, Marcus?"

"We grew up together on Harmony," Keith told him. "And who are you?"

"Who am I?"

"Here we go," I groaned.

"Uh, the name's Lance." Keith silently looked at him without recognition. Lance blinked a few times. "... We were in the same class at the Garrison?"

"Really," Keith asked. "Are you an engineer?"

"No, I'm an aircraft pilot," Lance told him. "We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck-and-neck."

"No you weren't," I commented.

"Oh wait, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot," Keith said.

"Well, not anymore," Lance countered. "I'm fighter class now thanks to you washing out."

"Well, congratulations." Not wanting to waste any more time, Keith and I walked passed him with Shiro. Lance grumbled before following us. Once we were outside and heading towards the hovercraft, Hunk looked towards where the explosions went off and saw the search party coming towards us. The Grunts' having their rifles out and ready and the Samsons' mounted guns aimed at us.

"Oh, man, they're coming back and they do _not_ look happy," Hunk said, as he and Pidge started running towards the hovercraft. "We've gotta go." Passing Keith, me, and Lance, the small teen climbed onto the back of the craft, as Hunk walked around the vehicle. "Uh, do you mind if we catch a ride with you?"

"Hold on," I told him, having an idea. "Keith, get on the craft and get ready to fly us out of here." Keith nodded and let go of Shiro. Although the guy was heavy, I walked him to where Pidge was. "You take him."

"Why me?" He complained, but nonetheless brought him up on the hovercraft.

"Because I and Lance are each going to get on one the wings," I responded, going around to the other side. "And Hunk's going to get on the tail. That way we'll have equal balance."

"Oh, okay. Now I get it," Hunk said before jumping and climbing onto the tail of the hovercraft. This unfortunately caused it to tip back from his weight. Okay, maybe not the best idea I had.

"Is this _thing_ going to be big enough for all of us," Pidge asked.

" _No_ ," Keith stated before noticing the assault trucks were getting closer to us. He quickly ignited the vehicle and took off in the other direction at full speed. We were moving fast, but one look back at the Samsons and I could see them keep up with us.

"Can't this thing go any faster," Lance asked loudly over the roar of the engines.

"We could toss out some non-essential weight," Keith said.

"Now's not the best time to throw insults, Keith," I told him. "You're going to have to work with Hunk to steer this thing."

"Right," Keith said. "Big man, lean left!" Hunk complied and leaned his body to left. The hovercraft turned left with his weight. The Samsons turned to keep up with us, but two of them crashed into each other when one tried to cut in front of the other. Resulting in the second truck to ram into its side and flipping it over.

"Aw man!" Hunk exclaimed as our hovercraft and the trucks started driving up a steep, naturally made ramp up the canyon side. "Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! ... No, no, he's fine."

"Big man, lean right!"

Hunk leaned right and we ran off the side of the cliff. I clenched onto the hovercraft tightly as we fell, before landing on the cliff below. The two remaining Samsons jumped off the cliff after them, one of them crashed into the wall of the canyon when it landed. The last remaining truck raced after us.

"Guys?" Hunk started to stammer and pointed forward. "Is th-th-th-tha-tha—Is that a cliff up ahead?"

Looking forward, we soon saw the edge of the canyon quickly approaching. I look at Keith with worried eyes. "Don't tell me you're gonna…"

"Yup," Keith said with a smirk. He accelerated the speed of the hovercraft, heading straight for the edge.

That's when Lance started to freak out. "Ooooh no, no, no! No, no, no, no—!"

Soon we were jumping off the edge. Everyone except Keith and of course Shiro, screamed in terror. The Samson that was pursuing us made a shrieking stop near the cliff.

"What are you doing?!" Lance yelled as we fell towards the surface. "You're going to kill us all!"

"Shut up and trust me!" Keith quickly shifted the controls of the hovercraft. With a second, its underside was facing the ground. He then put more power into the thrusters and when we were about to make contact with the ground below, it hovered above it. Keith then had it continued flying across the desert.

Hunk looked back at the cliff and saw that the vehicle had stopped. He then let out a big sigh of relief and leaned back a little. "Thank God that's over."

I sighed in relief too, now all we had to do was show up the next day and act like we out late and crashed at a friend's house.

However, I soon heard what sounded like rocket thrusts. At first I thought that it was just me hearing things or a meteorite.

But when I looked up at the sky and saw the cause of the sound, my eyes widened. "Oh no," I whispered before yelling. "TITANFALL!"

The Titan landed return in front of the moving hovercraft a few feet away. Every one of us but Keith screamed in terror, as he quickly made a hard break. Attempting to stop us from colliding with the mecha. However, it kept going. But things went from bad to worse when the robot grabbed the hovercraft by the wings, where the thrusters were.

It then crushed them, destroying them. We weren't going anywhere. It then dropped the hovercraft to the ground, causing it and us to bounce

We all groaned from the impact with the ground before looking up at the towering death machine staring down at us.

It was a Vanguard-class Titan, the first Titan design to be produced entirely by the Frontier Militia. They had many features that made them different from Post-Demeter Titans, like bearing more resemblance to older chassis designs. The biggest difference was the ability to utilize other Titan loadouts, even Core Abilities, and be able to switch them on the fly. Making them one of the most power Titans to ever exist.

This Titan was a dark grey with some white and orange and had the symbol of the SRS on its cockpit hatch. On its back, it had a XO16A2 Chaingun.

We looked up at the single glowing blue eye of the Vanguard-class Titan. Lance and Hunk were shaking with fright. Pidge was also scared, but was holding Shiro's unconscious body while doing so. Keith glared up at it with frustration. And finally, I was looking at it with both fear and wonder. This was really the first time I've been this close to a Vanguard. I didn't know whether to be afraid or astonished.

After a moment of silence, the hatch opened. Stepping out of the seat of his cockpit, a Pilot walked onto the hatch and stopped at the edge of the open hatch door. The uniform and clothing were similar to Battle Rifle Pilots, and he was equipped with a V-47 Flatline attached across his back and a B3 Wingman revolver on his hip.

Oh no, please don't let it be him.

The Militia Pilot stood on the hatch and press the left side of his helmet, this caused the X-shaped visor to retract and revival Captain Quinton's face as he glared at us with his arms crossed.

Oh God, we're screwed.

Lance lot a loud sighed with his hand on his chest. "I thought we were in trouble for a minute there.

Quinton continued to glare.

"Ah, Lance," I whisper to him. "We _are_ in trouble."

* * *

At a desert shack in the middle of nowhere, the Vanguard-class Titan stood near it with it's Chaingun out. Keeping watch for anything that might happen.

Inside the shack, Captain Quinton glared at me, Pidge, Lance, Hunk and Keith. Shiro was still unconscious and had been placed on a bed in the small, single room shack.

"I'm disappointed in you, Moore," Quinton finally said. "I know I've trained you to be starter than this. And yet I find you running from the Militia, after helping in a kidnapping! What if I was some other Pilot, huh? Many of them would've killed you and your friends on sight!"

I sighed in dejection. "Yes, sir," I said.

Quinton shook his head. "You all have put me in a tight spot, and it took me about an hour to convince Command to let your five off the hook."

"Really," Lance asked with a smile, happy to hear that we weren't getting in trouble.

"But I hope you and your little friends understand the severity want you've done, Moore," scolded the ace Pilot. "Being out after curfew is one thing, but then you had to go and help a dropout kidnap someone from a quarantined sight who we need answers from, that's unacceptable!"

Keith got angry about that remark and snapped, "Hey, I wasn't kidnapping him. I was saving him!"

Quinton turned his attention to him and walked up to Keith. "Then you should know that you little rescue mission not only cost the Militia four assault truck," he told him, looking down at the teen and pointed at the four of us, "but the future of these four."

This shocked me, and it most have shocked the others too. I could feel a terrible feeling in my stomach. Fearing want I thought in my head was about to be said. But I prayed that I wouldn't be that outcome. "Captain," I said hesitantly. "What are you saying?"

The Pilot looked at me and sighed. His expression turned from anger and disappointment to regret and sorrow. Oh no. "I'm sorry, boys," he said softly to the four of us. "In order to keep you out of jail and being suspected of treason, they've decided to terminate your enlistment in the military."

If I had a mirror with me, I wouldn't have needed it to know the pale and devastated look I had.

"You mean…"

Quinton placed a sorrowful hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Marcus," he whispered. "You can't become a Pilot anyone."

…No…

I honestly didn't know how to feel, or if I was feeling anything. All I feel was my back hitting the wall as I leaned against it. My legs went leak, but were able to keep me up as my head hung down. I felt the tears.

I don't regret saving Shiro. I knew it was the right thing to do. But to be a Pilot is all I ever wanted. I've trained my body and mind every day to when I was 13. Learning the insides and outs of old, damaged Jump Kites. Heck, I even went as far as to learn how to operate the agricultural Titans on his home Harmony at the age of 15. They weren't power Titans and were mostly thrown together using remaining or surviving Tier 1 Titan parts. The farmers thought I was crazy, when I told them I wanted to be a Pilot, they let me at it.

All of that until I was ready to join the Militia at the age of 17, even though they weren't too shy to recruit cadets as young as Pidge for none combative roles until they were at the right age to be trained for combat.

For 2 years, I went through training to become a Rifleman.

For almost a year, I've trained with Captain Quinton.

And now, after all of that and more, I couldn't become a Pilot anymore.

I was cut out of my somber state when a hand placed itself on my shoulder. Looking up, and realizing that I was sitting on the floor was tears running my eye, I saw that Keith was the one who had his hand on me. "I'm sorry, Marcus," he said with sincerity. "I know how much you wanted to become a Pilot."

"Same here, man," Lance said genuinely, as he, Pidge, and Hunk stared sadly. "We really blew it for you."

I sighed and wiped my eyes. "No, none of you are to blame," I said standing up. "I wanted to save Shiro too. I just…can't believe it's all over." I would have said more until a groggy moan was heard. We looked towards the source of the sound and saw Shiro sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Shiro!" Keith exclaimed as he ran over to him with Quinton following. Getting up, I went with them to the edge of the bed. "Shiro? Are you okay?"

When Shiro looked at us, he blinked a few times, probably to readjust his eyesight. When he looked at Keith again, his eyes widened. "Keith," he asked in a whisper. He then looked between me and Captain Lastimosa. "Marcus? Captain?"

I grinned with joy and nodded. "That's right," I said. "It's good to have you back."

"Heh." He chuckled once before saying, "It's good to be back."

"Shiro," Quinton said, walking around Keith and placing a hand on Shiro's shoulder. "I need to know what happened to you out there. Where... were you?"

Shiro looked down at the white bed sheets and sighed. "I wish I could tell you, sir. My head's still pretty scrambled. I was on an... alien ship, but... somehow I escaped. It's all a blur." He then looked at his surroundings. "How did I get here?"

"Keith brought you here after he rescued you," I told him. "I and a few others were wrapped in the mix after wanting to save you ourselves."

"Really," he asked before looking at Keith. "How did you know to come save me when I crashed?"

Keith was silent for a moment before saying, "You guys should see this." He then walked over to a wall that had a sheet covering. Grabbing the sheet, he pulled it away, and I was shocked to find a board of a map, diagrams, and notes. There were drawings and even pictures of drawings of what looked like a lion, I think that's what they're called. Haven't looked at Earth animals for a long time.

" _What_ have you been working on," asked Quinton, crossing his arms as he looked at the broad.

"I can't explain it, really," Keith explained. "After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kinda... lost and... felt myself drawn out to this place on Trident. It's like something... some energy, was telling me to search."

"For what," I asked, as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk watch us from afar. "There's nothing on this planet, but dirt and more dirt."

"Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area." He placed his hand on a large circle that was labeled _Energy Source._ "It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night. Then you showed up."

That's puzzling. No one was on Trident before the first settlers came to the Frontier. Could the aliens have drawn the pictures? Maybe even the lion itself when it got bored.

Shiro towards Lance, Hunk, and Pidge and said, "... I should... thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?" He offered his hand to Lance. Lance reached for the hand to shake it, but hesitated for a moment. I don't blame him. I can't imagine what those people did to him. Nonetheless, the aircraft pilot shook his hand.

The young Pilot then offered a handshake to shake to Pidge and Hunk. The little guy patted Hunk on the back. "The nervous guy's Hunk. I'm Pidge," he said before wondering. "So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?"

"I'm not sure," Shiro said. "I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces."

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the _aliens_ ," Hunk said.

"I agree with Hunk," Captain Quinton said in a serious tone. "Where are they now? Are they coming here to Trident?"

"I can't really put it together," Shiro told us. "I-I remember the word 'Voltron'. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why.

I wanted to say what kind of weapon was Voltron, but felt that would be wasting time. And it looked like time was against us. "Whatever it is," I said, "I think its best to find it before they do."

"Good idea, Moore." He nodded with a smile. "But how do we find this blue lion. I don't recognize this area of Trident."

"Well last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff," Hunk said, digging through the guy's bag, "and I found this picture." He brought out and held up a picture of Pidge and a girl hugging together. "Look, it's his girlfriend." He giggle for a moment before Pidge stole back the picture.

"Hey, gimme that!" He snapped before taking his bag from Hunk. "What were you doing in my stuff?"

"I wa—I was looking for a candy bar. But then, I started reading his diary," Hunk said, pulling out said diary.

And that's why I have a lock on my locker.

"WHAT!" Pidge yelled and snatched the diary away from him.

"Is he always like that," Quinton asked me.

"You have no idea," I told him.

"And I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line," Hunk explained.

"Frown... who," Keith asked in confusion, not sure what he was saying.

"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element," he explained to him, "only this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron Geiger Counter."

"Hunk, you big, gassy genius," Lance exclaimed. Even I was impressed.

"It's pretty fascinating, really. Th-The wavelength looks like this." Hunk pulled out a paper that had the wavelength graphed on it.

"Give me that!" Keith suddenly snacking it from him and walked up to the board.

"You have an idea, Keith," I asked.

"Yeah," he responded before holding it in front of a picture of a canyon. We all looked closely at it as he pulled the picture away.

The wavelengths matched the rock formation.

That's where we needed to go.

* * *

Within an hour, we all made it to the location the picture was taken. Keith gave us so weapons that he stole or bought off the black-market. I was given a M1A3 Hemlok BF-R with an HCOG sight, Lance had a G2A5 Battle Rifle equipped with a HCOG Ranger sight, Hunk a Spitfire LMG, Pidge an Alternator with HCOG, Shiro a C.A.R SMG, and Keith had himself an R-201 Assault Rifle with HCOG. Captain Quinton was inside of his Titan, which brought it's Chaingun.

"... OK. I admit it," Lance said as Hunk and Pidge were testing out their new 'Voltron Geiger Counter', which was also attached to Pidge's backpack by a wire, as the small teen held up a small radio disk. "This is super freaky."

"I'm getting a reading," Hunk said, before walking in front of us.

"Lead the way, boys," Quinton said from his Titan. Hunk and Pidge, before leading us through the rocks. While the two had one hand holding their devices and the other on their weapons, I, Lance, Keith, and Shiro had ours at the ready with the buttstocks in our shoulders, and thumbs ready to switch the safety off. There was no telling what we were going to encounter out here.

Behind us the Vanguard-class Titan's foot were heard, as Captain Quinton followed us. The head of the robot looking from left to right.

The crackling beeping of the Geiger Count continued as we walked through the canyon. However, after a moment, the sound became more frantic. We all heard it and picked up the pace.

We all stopped when we saw the entire to a cave in the mountain.

A moment later and we were walking into the cave. Luckily for Quinton, the cave was big enough for his Titan to be able to fit through.

With the light of the Titan's optic, we were to see in the cave. I and everyone was awestruck to see cravings edged into the walls. Many of them were the lion carving that Keith was talking about.

"We are we looking at," Captain Quinton.

" **Scans indicate these advanced marking pre-date back to a time long before the Frontier was established."** The Titan said in a monotone, female voice. I didn't even know that it was able to speak. **"I concluded that these carvings are not of human origins."**

"These are the lion carvings I was telling you about," Keith said as Lance walked up to the wall and looked at one of the carvings. "They're everywhere around here."

I turned towards Lance and saw him wiping away some dust off of the head of the blue lion carving.

Suddenly the carving lights up blue.

"Whoa," Lance said.

But when I looked up, I too was surprised. " _Whoa!_ " All the carving in the cave lighted up, startling everyone.

"Heh. They never done that before," Keith said.

The ground beneath our feet started to break, with the same blue light shining from the cracks.

"Everyone, grab on!" Captain Quinton order and kneed his Titan down with its fist and Chaingun on the ground. I, Lance, and Shiro grabbed onto the left arm, while Pidge, Hunk, and Keith grabbed on the Chaingun and right arm.

The ground then finally collapsed, taking all of us done with the Titan. We all screamed while riding down a tunnel of water on the mech. It pushed against the steep incline of the tunnel, but we were soon at the end of it and the Titan landed on its feet, landing in a pool of water and splashing some everywhere.

Feeling the ache of my body from the descent. I steadily let go of the Titan's arm and stood in the pool of water, a rarity on Trident. Looking back up at the tunnel we came down in, I saw it lead us right into a cavern that was God knows many feet below the surface. "Well," I said, "we're trapped."

"Guys…" I heard Lance gasped and turned my head towards him, seeing him look at something in front of us was wide. "Check it out."

I looked at what he was talking about was left in awe at what he was talking about. At first, I saw want looked like an extremely large Particle Wall force-field in the form of a dome. Similar to what Titans put up after landing from their drops. I was most astonished when I saw a giant, blue and white, robotic lion inside of the Particle Wall. It was larger than the Vanguard-class Titan, and it sat on its bottom like a lion and stared down at us with it's yellow eyes.

"Magnificent," Quinton gasped within his Titan.

"Is this it," Pidge asked. "Is this the Voltron?"

"It…must be," Shiro hesitantly. Keith then approached the lion with a one hand pointing his assault rifle at it.

"It's like a Particle Wall around it," he said, as the rest of us walked towards the beast too.

Lance, for some reason, started walking side to side, looking at it suspiciously. "Does anyone get the feeling this thing is sharing at them?"

"Hmm…No." Shiro told him.

"Yeah," Lance insisted, leaning his body around in all directions. "The eyes are totally following me."

"How," I demanded, before gesturing that the lion's head. "It has no pupils."

"Just call it a feeling," Lance said.

Keith ran up to the Particle Wall while looking up at the lion. I saw him try and push against the force-field, but wasn't able to get through. The giant robot had no reaction either. "I wonder how we get through this," he said.

"We could try shooting it," I suggested.

"Can't risk it," Quinton responded as we reached the Particle Wall. "We don't what we're dealing with here."

"Maybe you just have to knock," Lance said. Glancing from him to the force-field, I did as he suggested and knocked on it. Nothing happened. "You're doing it wrong!"

" _How_?" I demand.

"You need to do it like this." He knocked on the Particle Wall two times.

This time there was a reaction. The Particle Wall glowed a light brighter than before. The eyes of the lion flashed. The force-field then dissipated completely, before the floor beneath the lion ignited into blue lights.

I looked at the others and saw that they were in some kind of trance. "Hey, Lance," I exclaimed as I reach for his shoulder. "You okay, bubby?"

When I touched him, I was suddenly witnessing a vision.

I saw not only the blue lion, but four other lions of different colors flying upwards into the sky, before they started glowing purple, red, blue, yellow, and green. I then saw a giant robot wielding a flaming sword. It's almost like it was made from the five other and stood at over 100 meters tall.

"Argh!" I yelled as I feel like a joint of energy was sent start to my head, forcing me to back away from Lance and place a hand on my head. Everyone else said 'Woah' together.

"Moore, are you alright?" I heard Captain Quinton ask me.

"Yeah, I think," I responded, rumbling the back of my head. "What the heck was that?"

"So what?"

"Wait," Lance said, looking at the Titan in surprise. "You didn't _just_ have a vision?"

"What vision," the Pilot demanded.

"Captain, Voltron is a robot!" Hunk exclaim while sitting on the ground. "Voltron is a huge, _huge_ , freakin awesome robot!"

"And this thing is only one part of it," Pidge exclaimed.

"Are you telling me that there are more of these lions out there," Captain Quinton asked in astonishment.

"Looks like it," I said. "I wonder where the rest of them are."

"This is what they're looking for," Shiro whispered.

Keith commented by saying, "Incredible."

The Blue Lion suddenly lowered its head to ground in front of us. Acting on instinct and training, I aimed the Hemlok at it. Shiro, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge reacted the same and pointed the barrels of their guns at it. Quinton's Titan got into a combat stance and aimed it's Chaingun at it too.

The lion opened its mouth, before its teeth folded out into a ramp. In its mouth, I could see an entrance want I believed was the inside.

Lance hesitated for a moment, but gleefully ran up the ramp.

"Lance!" I called out, reach out an arm to him. "Want the hell are you doing, you idiot?"

"Relaxed," he said confidently, "just going to check out what's inside. Besides, I think it wants to take us somewhere."

Take us somewhere? Where could it want to take us? It's not like it can talk.

"If that's the case, you five better go in with him," Quinton said, walking the Titan to the left side of the lion. "I'm not leaving RC, so we'll be riding on top."

Then, four thrusters popped out of the back of the Titan and ignited. The Titan then flew up to the top of the lion with ease.

If I remember correctly, that wasn't due to the Vanguard-class ability to use different Titan loadouts. The Captain told me that he had modified and equipped his Titan with heavily modified Northstar Titan thruster so that he had the ability to fly. His reasoning was for a more mobile and advanced Titan to be of use on the battlefield. I had joked that one day we might be fighting Titans in space then.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when a hand placed itself on my shoulder I looked to see it was Shiro. "Come on," he said was a small smile. "We should with Lance."

Nodding, I followed the other into the lion.

After entering the robot, we went into what looked like the cockpit of the thing and saw Lance in a seat in front of an activating command console that had holographic panels and monitors. Then the large screen that went around the cockpit activated, giving us a clear view of what's into of us.

"Heheh! All right! Very nice," Lance exclaimed, as a targeting reticule formed on the screen.

A button flashed near where I was. Curious, I pressed it. That attached another panel to form nearly in front of Lance, surprising him and everyone else but me. The monitor then showed Captain Quinton's helmeted head looking at us. _"Good, made contact with you,"_ he said through the monitor. _"What's our next move?"_

"Right," Lance said, "just let me get a handle for this thing."

"OK guys, I-I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, y'know, aware," Hunk said nervously. "We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now."

"Now's not the time for that," I told him. "We're here because we want to keep the Frontier safe from aliens."

"Whoa, did you guys just hear that," Lance suddenly asked, making us look at him strangely.

"Hear what," Keith asked.

"I-I think it's talking to me."

" _You've must have somehow made some kind of neural link with the lion. What's it saying?"_

"Hmm... Um..." Lance leaned forward and seemed to be searching for a button.

Where are the handlebars on this thing?

Lance pressed a few buttons. They must have been the right ones because the lion stood up and roared, making Pidge and Hunk scream a little.

" _Easy in there, kid! I'm riding this thing! Okay, I guess this' your show then."_

"OK. Got it," Lance said confidently, grabbing the controls of the lion. "Now let's try this."

I looked at Quinton with an anxious look. "You better hold on tight."

Lance commanded the lion forward towards the cavern walls. The lion suddenly smashed through it and out of the mountain. We jumped high into the air before diving to the ground. Lance had it do a flip, before the robot activated it's thrusters that were on its paws. We hovered above the ground for a moment before Lance decided to be a show off and sent us flying into the air, doing somersaults and wild turns in the air.

Pretty much everyone was terrified, including me, and were latching onto either Lance or his chair, as Pidge and Hunk were screaming. On the monitor, I could see the Captain bracing his hands against the inside of his Titan.

" _KID. YOU ARE. THE WORST. PILOT. EVER."_

The blue lion then landed on the ground and started running across the desert at high speed. All Lance did was smiled stupidly. "Isn't this awesome?!"

"With you as the pilot, NO!" I yelled.

Hunk looked like he was going to lose it again. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"I'm not making it do _anything_. It's like it's on autopilot!" Lance told him with a smirk.

The blue lion suddenly took off of the ground and we were rocketing skywards.

"Where are you going?!" demanded Keith.

"I just said it's on autopilot! It says there's an alien ship approaching Trident. I think we're supposed to stop it."

"What did it say, exactly?!" I then demanded.

"Well, it's not like it's saying _words_ , more like feeding _ideas_ into my brain," He told me. "Kind of."

"Well, if this thing is the weapon they're coming from, why don't we just, like—I don't know, give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone," Hunk said before looking up. "Sorry, Lion, nothing personal."

" _That's not an option."_

"Quinton's right," Shiro said. "These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead."

We all stared sternly at Hunk, who now had beady little eyes. "... Oh. Never mind then."

"Are you going to be okay out there, Captain," I asked Quinton.

" _Don't worry, Titans have a life-support system and my helmet is able to reproduce oxygen for me for up to four hours. I'll survive."_

Soon we were leaving Trident's atmosphere and going into the vastness of space.

" _ **Quinton,"**_ said the Titan, _**"I have detected a jump signature. Unable to identify the craft."**_

Uh oh.

" _Alright, boys, this could be it."_ The screen that showed Quinton now showed his Titan as he rode the lion. The mech reached back and pulled out it's Chaingun. " _Let show them how we greet invaders in the Frontier!"_

And then, a large warship unlike anything I've ever seen before appeared in front of us. All of us in the lion gasped. "Uh... _Holy shit_! Is that really an alien ship?!" Hunk exclaimed as the lion positioned itself above and to the side of the warship.

"They found me..." Shiro whispered next to me. The warship opened fire on us. Shooting purple laser beams that I could only guess were about the power as orbital defense cannons.

"We've got to get it out of here!" Pidge told Lance.

"Hang on!" He pulled back on the controls and piloted the lion to dodge the onslaught of the lasers. I looked at the screen that showed Quinton's Titan. I saw that he was keeping low, while shooting short bursts at the ship. "Ah! All right! OK, I think I know what to do!"

"Be careful, man," exclaimed Pidge with a funny look. "This isn't a simulator!"

"Well, that's good. I always wreck the simulator."

Lance piloted the lion close to the warship while evading the laser fire. He then pushed the left control forward and the robot's mouth, firing a blue laser down the length of the ship. The blue line it left soon caused a series of explosions.

"Holy shit," I gasped.

"Let's try _this_." Lance then flew towards the side of the ship and used the blue lion's claws to tear into it. While he did so, Quinton fired at where he was cutting into. This combined effort caused another series of explosions, as we flew away from it.

We all cheered for Lance. "Nice job, Lance," I exclaimed.

" _Excellent work boys. Now I think it's time we got that thing away from—GAAH!"_

A single laser from the warship hit the Vanguard, right behind the Titan's left arm.

All I could do was watch in horror as Quinton Vanguard-class Titan's grip on the lion loosened, and it lifelessly flowed away down the lion's weight. "NOOOOO!" I shouted.

Lance quickly commanded the lion and its tail wrapped around the Titan's torso before we could lose them. "I got him," he said. I sighed in relief. But this wasn't over. I snarled at the small screen and was alarmed to see the warship turning towards us before pursing us.

"Oh, no!" complained Hunk.

"Get us out of here," I order Lance.

"This is the fastest its gonna go, Marcus," he told me.

"They're gaining on us," exclaimed Pidge. I looked at the screen and saw that they weren't making any attempts to kill us. They were just following behind us as the stars zipped pasted us.

"It's weird," I commented. "They're not trying to shoot us. Th-They're just chasing."

"OK, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is _good_?" complained Hunk. "I am not on board with this new direction, guys."

Keith then asked, "Where are we?"

"Edge of the Frontier," Shiro told us. Looking towards him, I saw looked out at, to my surprise, Hex. "Look, there's Hex."

"How," Pidge asked in astonishment. "We didn't even make a Jump. We got out here in five seconds by just flying alone."

I looked forward to asked Lance what the lion was doing, I was shocked to see some kind of circular and intricate designs of light appear before us. "What the hell?!"

"What is that?!" Hunk pointed at it, frightened.

"Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the Lion wants us to go through there," Lance told them.

"Where does it go," asked Pidge.

"I-I don't know."

I took a deep breath and look at Shiro was a serious expression. "Shiro, you're the senior officer here. We got to get Quinton away from that ship, but we don't know where we'll end up," I told him. I wanted to stand and fight and destroy that thing for hurting the Pilot trainer, but I knew that we weren't going to be able to do it without knowing Quinton's condition. "What should we do?"

"Whatever's happening, the Lion knows more than we do," Shiro said. "I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together."

We all looked at each other in silence. Each one of us nodded and turned to Lance. "... All right. Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow," he said. "Let's get the Captain out of here."

And with that, we flew into the circle.

A force of some kind suddenly hits us, as we were going there an intense and wild tunnel of energy. Nothing like how Jumping was. We all groaned from the turbulence.

And then, we weren't in the tunnel anymore. I felt myself being thrown forward, so I held out my hands and stopped myself from slamming into the chair.

Patting for a moment, I look to the left and saw what I thought was Earth. But as I looked closer, I saw the continents were shaped differently and there weren't the sighs of the IMC, or any human civilization.

"Whoa," Lance said, but I didn't pay attention to him. "That was..." I then heard Hunk grunt and vomit. Oh, that's nice. Puke in the nice robot lion after it saved us.

"So sorry," he said before going back to vomiting.

"I'm just surprised it took this long," Pidge commented.

"Shiro." I called to the young Pilot, who walked up to me. "That's not Earth or Harmony, is it?" I said, pointing to the planet.

"No, it's not, Marcus. And I don't recognize any of these constellations," he said. "We must be a long, long way from the Frontier."

"Right now that doesn't matter," I told him, looking back at the screen showing the almost lifeless Titan being held by the Lion's tail. "We need to get down there and help Captain Quinton."

"Well, you're about to get your wish," Lance said from the seat. I then noticed we were turning towards the planet. "The Lion seems to want to go to the planet. I think... I think it's going home."

The lion blasted its thrusters and accelerated towards the planet. We soon enter the atmosphere and flew across the sky.

"Guys, personal space!" Lance exclaimed. I opened my eyes and saw that not just me, but everyone was huddled close to Lance from the intense turbulence. Well is was embarrassing. "Hunk, your breath is killing me."

"Um, is it just me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious Wormhole," the big engineer asked indigently. "Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?"

"Because we don't have a choice and Quinton is hurt," I told him.

"Besides, it did get us away from that alien warship, didn't it," Lance asked.

"I don't know if you noticed," said Keith, "but we're in an alien warship."

"Oh, are you scared?" Lance mocked him.

"With you at the helm? Terrified."

"All right, knock it off!" Shiro told everyone. "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now and we've got a Pilot who could be in critical condition. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

"So, what do we do," asked Pidge

Shiro was silent for a moment before talking. "First, we find out where we're headed. Lance?"

"I don't know," he said. "I'm sorry. The Lion's not talking to me anymore."

Well, that's just…!

"... Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh! Listen. I think I hear something."

We all listened in closer and heard a high-pitched squeal sound. "I'm hearing it, too," Keith said.

"It's, uh—It's kind of a—a high-pitched squeal?" Hunk said with uncertainly.

Wait. I sifted the air and…Oh God. Lance let the fart rip out, causing everyone to groan and hold their nose in disgust. "Come on, Lance!" Me, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk exclaimed.

"But seriously, there's a Castle up ahead," he said and I looked. Luckily for _him_ , there was a castle.

It was a large white advance, yet beautiful castle with four towers around it. Set on a lone high rock pillar with many trees and plants surrounding it. A large courtyard was in front of it, and extending from both the castle and pillar.

"Wow," we all said.

The Lion's eyes flash brightly, causing the castle and four towers reacted by having blue lights shine from their tip tops. We then slowly descended to the courtyard and landed.

"Keep your guard up," Shiro said, but I didn't listen. All I did was grab my Hemlok and ran out of the cockpit. "Marcus!" I heard him call me, but I didn't respond or look back.

When the Blue Lion's mouth opened to let me out, I ran down the ramp at full. I didn't care if there was someone waiting for me outside or an army or monster, I ran out of the mouth and rushed towards the back of the Lion. "Quinton!" I called out, stopping near the Lion's leg and seeing that it had already placed the Titan containing the Captain on the smooth floor of the courtyard.

The Vanguard slowly stood up, the place where the laser it was scorched and had a few sparks of ember spring out of it, but the chassis remained undamaged. I was sure that that laser blast would have wrecked it up completely. But when I think back, the beam wasn't that strong. How could they have known—?

I snapped out of my head when the Vanguard dropped it Chaingun and fell to it's fist and knees.

"Captained Quinton!" I exclaimed, beyond worried, and approached the Titan. Behind me, I heard and footsteps of running people.

Before I could get within a meter of it, the closed hatched hissed out steam, before opening up. Captain Quinton fell out of the cockpit and landed on the floor. I ran to him as he clenched his stomach in pain. "Captain." I got on my knees at his side and place a hand on his chest, as he breathed heavily. Looking at where his hands were, I figured that that was where the most severe injury was.

Lifting away his hand, I flinched at the sight of a hole burnt into his left side.

A second later and the other arrived. "Oh, man," Hunk said with worry, while Shiro kneel on the other side of the veteran Pilot and place a hand on the wound, Keith stood near me, Lance stood next to the engineer, and Pidge placed a hand on his neck to feel his pulse. "He hurt ready bad, isn't he?"

"That laser blast most have sent him into shock or something," Pidge said with an anxious look. "His pulse is very weak. He's not going to last long."

I snapped my head so quickly to Hunk and Lance that I would've given myself whiplash. "We got to get into that castle," I told them, feeling myself panic more. I may've not known the man for less than a year, but Quinton was more than a mentor to me. He was a good friend and one of the best men I ever knew. "Maybe they could help."

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a hand grabbed my arm. Snapping my head back to Quinton, I and everyone around me watched as the Pilot press the left side of his helmet, opening his visors. His struggling to breathe was heard more clearly, as I saw his eyes shut closed and a bit of blood around his chin. "RC…" he said, struggling to speak, "…transfer authorization to new Pilot…"

"What are you…?" I whispered.

"Link…Rom—" he stopped and coughed violently, with more blood coming out, shocking everyone.

"Quinton, please," Shiro pleaded. "You have to rest or…" Quinton placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. I looked at him, wondering what he was doing, only to see the younger Titan Pilot looking at me with wide eyes. As if he had realized something about me. But what?

"…Romeo-Charlie, Two-Zero-Four-Nine." He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Marcus." He leaned up and grabbed my right shoulder with his left hand. Staring at me with almost pleading eyes. "Take my Titan."

"What?" I gasped in shock, I didn't know if how they reacted. I was only focused on the last remaining member of my family.

"Use my helmet, equipment, and my Jump Kit," he said before pulling me closer with a smile. Almost like he was proud of me. "This is the real thing. Take care of her…" His eyes rolled back before they closed and his head hit the ground before his hand left my shoulder.

No one said a thing. Time just seemed to freeze, and I could feel almost all their eyes on me now.

What was there to say?

Captain Oscar Quinton was KIA.

* * *

I kneeled down and placed the last rock on the makeshift grave of rocks, before slipping my hand away from it.

I still couldn't believe this was happening. It was almost unreal. I didn't want it to be real, but it was.

After Quinton's death, the six of us didn't want to proceed any further without giving him what all fallen heroes deserved: a proper burial.

We took him away from the courtyard to this lovely open space in the forest that contained a clear, fresh water lake and hand many weird flowers around it.

Before we buried him under the mound of rocks, I did as my mentor told and took his Jump Kit and equipment. Over my crimson jumpsuit, I wore the heavy layer of grey torso body armor that was attached and connected to several other pieces of armor, such as the knee pals, elbow guards under my rolled up sleeves, a shoulder plate on the left shoulder, and shin guards. All these pieces of armor had an orange strip on them. I did keep my shemagh around my neck though.

The reasons that the armor was connected was for better protection, so Pilots were able to move more freely, and because it gives the user physical-augmentations, without surgery. That's how Pilots are able to snap a person's head completely backwards.

The ordnance I had on were four frag grenades and in a sheath that was attached to the body armor was a Data Knife: a knife that can also be used to hack into various systems. And holstered on my right leg was a B3 Wingman.

And lastly, I had on the Jump Kit, the small jetpack that I wore around my waist. It this former ship salvaging equipment that gives the Pilot the ability have amazing movement and be able to leap to higher places.

All the gear for a Titan Pilot.

What I always wanted to be…

But I didn't know if this even made me a Pilot. All he said was to take the Titan and his armor and Jump Kit. Anyone could have worn this armor. That doesn't make them a Pilot.

Looking upwards towards the castle, I knew that the others were waiting for me so we could go into the building together.

Whether or not I was an official Pilot doesn't matter. The battle has only begun, and my friends were going to need my help.

Turning my head towards the ground, I looked that Quinton's helmet. I grabbed it and stood up. Holding it with both hands, I stared at the X-shaped visors for a second, before turning it slightly and looked that the blue Prowler, which was used for the SRS logo.

Turning it completely around, I raised the helmet over my head.

I took in a deep breath, let it out, and then put the helmet on.

All I could see was blackness at first, until the visor activated and I could the world more clearly than ever. I saw small data numbers being ran on the top left and right corners of the helmet. Then the texts started to appear.

 **NEW USER FOUNDED**

 **FIRST NAME: MARCUS**

 **LAST NAME: MOORE**

 **AGE: 19**

 **SERIAL NUMBER: 201314727**

Yup. That's me.

 **BLOOD TYPE: A+**

 **BIRTH DATE: 10.06**

 **COMBAT UNIT: 41 MRB-E**

That's about right. Only I'm not a part of the Militia anymore.

 **RANK: CADET**

Huh. Must have not been made official yet. Either way, it doesn't matter.

 **INITIALIZING PILOT COMBAT SYSTEMS**

Alright, give me the goods.

 **PERSONAL – OK**

 **ORDANCE – OK**

 **FIREARMS – OK**

That should be everything, so bent down and grabbed my Hemlok and made my way back to the others.

* * *

When I approached the group, as they were hanging around the Lion and Vanguard, they saw me and smiled.

"Well look at you," Shiro said as he and Keith walked up to me. "You look like a real Titan Pilot."

"Yeah," I said with a sad smile behind the helmet. "But I'm no Pilot. I'm just wearing armor. Like anyone can."

"He pick you to take control of his Titan, that's more than enough for me," Keith said, patting me on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. He was a good man."

"And a good friend." I looked at Shiro as he looked sorry. I just nodded head. "I never would have image you to be Quinton's student. How come you never told us?"

"Keith knew, but dropped out of the Garrison, and you were captured," I admitted. "We'll talk about that stuff later, right now we should get—"

"Marcus!" I turned my head towards Pidge, Hunk, and Lance, as they stood near the Titan where it was hit. Hunk was looking at what I saw was a Titan battery, with Pidge holding up one too. "We got a problem!"

I glance at Shiro and Keith before the three of us went towards them. "What's wrong," Shiro asked.

"That laser blast that killed Quinton took out one of the batteries."

"What?!" I asked in shock. He handed me the battery he had and I took it. I then saw the thing was indeed busted. Shit. "What about the other two," I asked, handing Pidge back the destroyed battery.

"Oh, one's fine and still in the Titan. However…" Hunk said, showing the second battery. However, the green lights that were usually on were no off. "This one's empty."

"How's that even possible," Lance asked. "Those things are long lasting, right?"

"Not without the other two," Shiro said, taping the remained battery still in the Titan with his knuckles. "It most have used the remaining amount of power in the second battery to keep it running."

"So how are we going to fix this," Keith asked. "We're God knows how many light-years from the Frontier."

I looked towards the castle. This place was advanced, right? They have to have some kind of alternative power source for the Vanguard.

" **Power low."** The Titan said. **"Insufficient power."**

Looks like we didn't have a choice. Quinton gave me his Titan and I wasn't going to let it stay like this, not when it could help us. "Why not ask the people inside," I asked, point at the castle. I then walked to Hunk. "The Lion brought us here for a reason, we'll be killing two birds with one stone." He handed me the drained battery and I attached it to my back, above the Jump Kit.

Shiro sighed and said, "Fine, but have your weapons ready and keep your guard up."

"Something wrong," asked Pidge, putting down the destroyed battery.

"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again."

Understanding why he felt that way, I brought out the Hemlok and pulled back the charging handle, bring the bolt back, and then releasing it, cambering a road.

Around me I heard the sounds of the others reading their weapons. Looking at them, I nodded and they returned the gesture. Time answers.

Soon we were walking towards the castle, leaving the power drained Titan behind with the Lion.

However, after walking past the Lion's head, it suddenly stood up, startling me and the others. "Oh no! Oh no!" Hunk panicked while we aimed at the head of the robot, but didn't fire. "I knew it was going to eat us! No!" However, insisted of eating us, it lets out a mighty roar at the castle.

Looking at the doors, I was surprised to see it starting to light up like the cravings back on Trident. They then open. Pointing my weapon at the entrance, I watched as the opened all the way, all while Hunk whimpered and cowered behind me until the doors finish opening.

Afterwards, he looked over my shoulder and said, "Oh, the door is open." He looked at the Lion. "Guess I was wrong about you."

Eerie silence bemused us as we made our wide in the large hallway. Thanks to my helmet's night vision setting, I was able to see that mostly of everything in the place was white, black, and blue. We moved with caution, figures on the trigger for any kind of attack. However, I couldn't help but take in our surroundings. The walls of this place looked just as advance as the outside.

Yet, why was it so empty?

"Hellooo?"

I almost brought my weapon up to shoot when I was startled to hear Hunk's voice echoed in the emptiness. Staring at him with a glared under my helmet, while everyone stared at him too, equally startled. Hunk shrugged.

"From the size of the Lion," Pidge said, looking at a flight of steps before us, as we were now in some sort of vestibule, "I expected these steps to be bigger."

Suddenly my night vision was turned off when a beam of light shined down on us, causing me to point my rifle at the ceiling where it was coming from. _"Hold for identity scan,"_ said a computer's voice. I then looked down and saw the floor activate. Then each of us had a ring of energy moving up and down our bodies.

"We mean no harm," I exclaimed upwards, holding up my hands and weapon over my head. "We're because of the Lion."

" _Why_ are we here," Shiro questioned the computer. "What do you want with us?

The scan then stopped. After that, torch lights in the shape of diamonds started lighting up. "Whoa," both Lance and Pidge said in amazement, as the torches started lighting up a path that went deeper into the castle.

"That way it is then," I said.

Few the next few seconds, we continued going. We felt more relaxed with the crystal torches igniting to lead the way, but didn't let our guard down as when deeper inside.

"Hello?" Hunk asked again, his voice echoing as we walked across a long balcony.

Then made a right turn and started walking down some stairs. "Hellooo?"

Soon we approached a set of large doors. "Looks like this the place it wants us to go," I said. Walking up to it, I was about to push them open when they suddenly started sliding open, making me aim my Hemlok at the inside. I sighed and lowered it when it was revealed to be an empty circular room with columns arranged in a circle. But what was in there that the castle wanted us to see so badly?

"Hello," asked Hunk, _again_ , as we walked into the room.

"Where are we," asked Lance. I and Pidge spotted a console and walked up to it. On it was a black hexagon shape. I took off my helmet and hooked it onto my belt.

"It's some kind of control room," Pidge said. Taking a quick glance at him, I looked back at the shape. I pressed it, thinking it wouldn't do anything.

Oh, it did. It then showed a W shaped symbol light up above it, as it shined bright blue.

That seemed to activate something and when I heard a steaming hiss. I quickly turned around and brought up my gun. Lance and Shiro did then same.

Rising out of the floor was want I could only describe as a pod of some kind. Although I could see into it, the silhouette of what was in it told me there was a person inside.

I walked up to it and stood a couple feet away from it, my assault rifle put away on my back. Just then, another pod raised up, to the right of the first one. "Are these guy's…dead," Hunk asked, hiding behind the console.

I looked down and saw the machine was activated, blue lights shining at the bottom of the pod and steam exist from it. I then watched and followed the glass as it disappeared going upwards. Revealing who was inside.

I could feel the breath in my lung be taken when I saw it was an, slender young woman around my age with brown skin and long, curly silver hair that was long enough to reach her hips. However, her ears were pointed at the top, and she had small sickle-shaped marks of pink situated on her cheekbones, right under each of her closed eyes. Her long bangs were pulled back out of her face to reveal a gold circlet she wore that had a teal embellishment in the center, and she wore a pair of purple earrings that dangled from her ears.

She was dressed in what I'd consisted to be a formal royal gown. The dress was largely blue and white, accented with gold, light blue, and pink. She wore gold bracelets on each wrist and a blue cape lined with gold that snugly wrapped around her shoulders and flowed behind her back, reaching her calves in a split, winged design. The inside of her cape was pink and lined with white, and the collar of her cape was decorated with a strange blue mark on each side.

Wow, she was beautiful.

She suddenly gasped and opened her eyes, revealing them to bright blue with her pupils having a noticeable lavender color in the center of them.

"Father!" She lunged forwards with an arm reach outwards, but ended up falling forward. Thinking quickly, I activated the Jump Kit and speed towards her. Quickly catching her in my arms, I held onto her to keep her from falling over. Ignoring the blush on my face that was caused by the fact that she was even prettier up close, had her arm on my shoulder and left arm, and when she moaned once and looked at me. "Uh, h-hello," I said with a nervous grin.

"Who are you," She asked before look around herself. "Where am I?"

"My name is Marcus Moore, and I guess we're in your castle," I told her.

"How did you…?"

"It's complicated." I looked at her in a serious way, stepping back a little to let her stand on her own. "My friends and I were brought here. Do you know why and what's going on?"

She didn't respond immediately, only looking closely at me for a moment before, "Your… _ears_."

I was a little taken back by the question. "…Yeah?"

"…They're hideous," she said with a frown. "What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing," I told her, a little insulted. Before I knew it, I was pushed out of the way Lance.

"Hello," Lance said to her in a suave persona. "I'm Lance, and as you can see. my ears are not—" He didn't finish when the girl grabbed him by the left ear, turned him around, and then pushed him down to the floor with his arm behind his back, putting him in a painful restraint hold. Didn't see that coming.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?"

The girl must have heard the chicks of our guns before she looked up and was a little startled to see all of us aiming at her. Except Hunk, who was crowding. "Look, we don't want any trouble," I said, getting her to look at me. I cautiously lowed the Hemlok down and held up my right hand. "Like I said: we were brought here by a giant blue lion. Why is that?"

She looked shocked at first before scowling again. "How do you have the Blue Lion," she demanded before letting Lance go. "What happened to its Paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless…" She thought for a moment as Lance moved away from her, as the others lowered their guns. "…How long has it been?"

I wanted to say something sarcastic, but instead said, "Since what?"

"We don't know what you're talking about," Shiro said. "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help." Maybe she could even help us out, too.

The girl then said, "I'm Princess Allura of Planet Altea."

So she's an alien princess? Got it.

"I got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep," she proclaimed before walking past us and to the console. Placing her hands on the on it, the console activate with blue lights and a holographic screen.

"Okay," Pidge said. " _That's_ how that work."

Not really knowing what she was doing on the console, I put back on my helmet. Didn't know why I had it off in the first place. It was actually comfortable.

I heard a noise and looked to see the second pod opening. The person in it a lean man with pale skin, short orange hair that was slicked back and flared out at the base of his neck, and a distinct bushy orange mustache. Like Allura, his ears are pointed, had small sickle-shaped marks of blue situated on his cheekbones, right under each of his eyes, and like the princess, his eyes to not like a human's: Violet with pupils that were noticeably purple in the center

His clothing consisted of a distinguished dark blue jacket accented with white, gray, and yellow; the collar stood high on his neck and the jacket covers his hips. His sleeves were tucked into his white gloves, which are accented with lighter blue. Underneath his jacket, the guy appeared to wear a dark gray shirt and dark gray pants padded at his knees and were tucked into his dark blue boots that reached his shins and were accented with yellow, gray, and black.

When he looked at me and Lance he gasped and let out a scream. "E-Enemy combatants," he exclaimed before getting out of the pod and jumps towards us in an attempt to jump-kick one of us. But Lance and I sidestepped him. The guy landed on the floor on his feet, but screamed and waved his hands to keep his lost balance.

Is he like some royal adviser? No his jump-kick said that he was trained to be a soldier.

" _Quiznak_!" He exclaimed some alien cuss word before turning to us. "You're lucky I have a case of the old 'Sleep Chamber Knees'. Otherwise, I'd grab your head like this—" he imitated a choke hold "—wrap you up like so and—One, two, three—" the gut snapped his finger "—Sleepy time!"

"Well, before you did that, I'd—Hoo! Ha! Hiyah!" Lance started imitating so really bad karate moving. "—Like that."

"Oh, Really?!" The guy looked at me. "How about you? How could you fight when I've already come at you with this?!" He bent down and pretended to strike repeatedly. "Ha, ha, ha, ha-ey!"

"I'd just do this." I simply pointed the Hemlok at him. My lips smirked when the man freaked-out with a scream, standing on one foot. "Heh heh," I chuckled a little. "Never bring a fist to a gun fight."

"It can't be..." I heard Allura gasped. Looking at her, I saw she was stating at the screen as it displayed unreadable alien writing. Wanting to get a better angle, I walked around to look that the left side of her face.

She looked devastated.

"What is it," the man asked.

She then exclaimed: "We've been asleep for 10,000 years!"

Holy shit.

"Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed," Allura said, turning towards the man with her body facing me, as the man look looked surprised before lowering his head in sorrow. "Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization..."

Damn. In a way, I can understand what she was going through with the death of her father. My parents were killed when Harmony was attacked by the IMC. However, I couldn't image what they're going through with the destruction her people, civilization, and worlds.

To wake up after ten thousands of years has passed, only to find out _that_. Must be an _awful_ thing to feel.

But, how?

Hesitantly, I asked her, "Princess?" Allura looked at me, a little taken back by the helmet. "Can you tell us what happened, please?"

Her saddened face transformed into rage. " _Zarkon_ ," she growled.

Shiro gasped, bring my attention to him. "Zarkon...?"

"You know who see's talking about," I asked, as everyone one looked at him.

"No, but I remember now," he said, looking at his robotic arm. "I was his prisoner."

"He's still alive," Allura asked, shocked. "Impossible!"

"Hold on a second. Who is he," I asked.

"He was the King of the Galra," she said with a venomous tone. "A vile creature and enemy to all free people."

"Then why did he go to Hex," I demanded. If he really was that bad, then I had to know why he came to the ice moon that day he captured Shiro. "What could the Frontier, our _home_ , have to do with him?"

"I can't explain it, but I do know this," Shiro explained. "He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron."

"He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him," Allura explained, "and that's exactly why we must find it before he does."

That's all I need to hear. "So how do we find Voltron?"

"So wait," Hunk said. "Does that mean we don't need to fix the Titan?"

My eyes widen and I face palmed the helmet. "Oh crap, I almost forgot!" I exclaimed.

"'Titan'," Coran asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What is this 'Titan' you speak of," Allura demanded, looking at me with a curious and suspicious expression.

I was silent for a moment as I stared at her. Looking up at the other, they all had saddened expressions. Nonetheless, they nodded.

Letting out a small sigh, I stared down at her, as she was a few inches shorter than me. I reached behind me and pulled out the drained Titan battery and showed it to her. I hesitated by said, "We wouldn't have been able to find the Lion without help."

Her stern expression softened a little. "What do you mean," she asked.

I turned my right shoulder to her and nodded with my head for her to follow. "I think it best you see for yourself."

* * *

"Oh my," Allura gasped, as her and Coran's eyes were as wide as they could be when they saw the Titan. We brought the two out to the courtyard and show then the mech, as it was still on its fists and knees.

" **Power low. Insufficient power."**

"This is a Titan," I said, walking up to Vanguard. "They're not really vehicles, but more like giant, robotic exoskeletons. An extension of the Pilots that control them. Designed to drop from orbit onto the battlefield and take on almost anything." Looking back at them, I pointed at it with my thumb. "This is the Vanguard-class Titan."

"There are more of these robots," Allura asked, staring at the Titan with wonder.

"Yes there are," Shiro told her. "Things aren't so peace where we come from. This one is the Frontier's first produced Titan chassis, and it used to belong to one of the best fighters of the Militia and our friend, Captain Quinton."

"If it wasn't for him, we went have been able to find the Lion or make it here," Lance said as Hunk and Pidge looked down.

Allura looked at me with a sad face. "You mean…?"

I shook my head. "He didn't make it."

"…I'm so sorry," she said with a hand over here heart. "Is there anything I can do?"

"There is," I said before pulling out the drained battery again. I approach her and Coran. "In his final words, he told me to take care of this Titan. However, before that, we were attacked by a Galra warship on our way here. One of the laser hits were these batteries were located."

I gave Coran the battery. Taking it, he then started turning and twisting it around as he observed it.

"There are three of them in the Titan. One of them was destroyed, this one used up all its power to fill in for the destroyed one," I continued. "We were wondering if you had an alternate power source for it."

Coran held up the battery with one hand and twiddled his mustache with the other, staring at it. He then snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "I know: Quintessence!"

Allura appeared to agree with him, as she smiled. "Of course!"

"Wait. What is that," Pidge asked, as we all had the same question.

"It's a substance that is life itself and a self-generating power source," Allura explained. "Not only does it have healing properties, but a single drop of quintessence is able to power a simple machine for an entire year with no loss in performance."

"That's great," I said, smiling under my helmet. I was relieved to hear that. If that was true, then I can only imagine the amount of power the Titan would have. "So how do we get this stuff?"

"Well…" The princess was interrupted with when machine noises and footsteps were here. We looked and saw the Blue Lion turning its body towards us. Hunk, as usual, hid behind someone. The giant robot then lowered its head to us and opened its mouth.

"Lance," I said warily, "you're the Lion communicator here. What's it saying?"

"I…I-I." Lance couldn't say his words properly before he said, "I think it wants you to put the battery in its mouth."

"What?"

"Of course," Allura suddenly said with a smile. "The Lions and Voltron are powered by quintessence. I believe that the Blue Lion wants to charge the battery with it."

"Are we sure that's safe," Keith asked. "We're talking about using an energy source we don't understand to power the Titan. Who knows what could happen."

"Oh, it could make it totally over powered!" Lance's eyes had stars in them when he exclaimed.

"Or could ruin the Titan's systems," Pidge counter.

"Well, we don't have much of choice," I told them. "If we're going to find Voltron, then we're going to need this Titan." I turned to Coran, before he handed the battery over. Taking it, I turned to the Blue Lion and approached it.

Reaching it, I dropped the battery in and stepped away. Yellow light could be seen radiating from the lines of the jaws. It's strange. It was like I could feel something coming from the jaws. It felt like…raw life. I can't think of a better way to describe it.

About third seconds later, the Lion's jaws opened and the ramp folded out too. When it did, the battery came rolling down it and to me. I stopped it with my foot. The battery was glowing with what was supposed to be green lights were now bright yellow ones. It was also wet with a yellow liquid that covered it. "Quintessence." I heard Allura say behind me.

Take my foot off the battery, I reached down and picked it up by the handle and body. I feel the quintessence on my hand, but didn't pay any attention to it. Turing to the Titan, I walked towards it. Going under its right arm and looked at the two empty round slots where both this battery and the destroyed one went.

Placing the one I had on the rim on the slot, I stopped. Looking over my left shoulder, I stared at my friend and the Altenas. "Ready or not, here we go," I said, and pushed into the battery before turning it to lock it in.

Afterwards, I back away from the robot. All eyes were on the Titan. Waiting to see if the quintessence would work.

Nothing happened for one second. Then two. Then three more seconds. I thought that maybe it wasn't good enough.

Then suddenly the Titan quickly on one foot, grabbed it's Chaingun, and stood up completely. The sudden movement caused most of us to yelp in shock.

" **Power at full capacity,"** The mech said placed the Chaingun on its back. **"Powerfully advance, alternative energy source has restored full power. Datacore re-initialized. All system – rebooted. Ocular system – online."** The Titan looked down at me with its single optic, as it tower over all of us. **"Adjust focus. Are you alright, Pilot?"**

Okay, maybe that quintessence is more powerful than I gave it credit. A lot more powerful. "I think so," I said. "Wait, did you just call me _Pilot_?"

" **Yes. The late Captain Quinton gave you the provisional rank of Acting Pilot. Congratulations on your promotion,"** it said. Each word spoken caused the optic to flash once. **"I am RC-2049. A Vanguard-class Titan of the Militia SRS. Marauder Corps. You may call me RC."**

So I really was a Pilot. "RC…got it."

RC looked up and looked around the courtyard. **"Pilot, my mapping systems has been restored. I do not have any data on where we are located. The wormhole we've entered through has taken us far away from the Frontier."**

"That's right, but we can't go back yet. We don't know how…and we have something to do. Something that could save the Frontier." As I was telling her this, Allura walked to my side.

RC noticed them and activated a scanning ray from her optic, scanning Allura first, who was startled by the action. The female Titan then turned her attention to Coran and scanned him. **"Scans indicate an unknown humanoid species,"** she said. **"We are indeed not in the Frontier."**

"That's right." I noddedto the princess. "The Lion brought us to this planet and we found Allura and Coran. We'll be helping them with finding a super weapon to use against the guys that attacked us."

"Greets, Titan," Allura said to it was hopeful expression. "I'm Princess Allura of Altea. I hope that you'll help us in these desperate times.

" **Pleased to meet you, your majesty,"** RC returned the greetings. **"I'm RC-2049. A Vanguard-class Titan of the Militia SRS. Marauder Corps. You may call me RC."**

"I'll must certainly remember that," she said before her face turned a serious one. "But now we must continue with searching for Voltron."

" **Voltron?"**

"The super weapon," I said.

" **Oh."**

* * *

A few minutes later, and we were back in the control room. My Titan, RC, wasn't able to go with us due to her size. She did say, however, that she'll be able to see and hear what I was thanks to the helmet, and would assist me and anyone near me through the helmet radio when possible.

Standing with the others with my arms crossed, I watched Allura telling Coran that she didn't want to eat, while working on the console. Floating nearby her was a plate of some weird, green, food goo.

As I stared at the two, an image of RC's upper body appeared on the upper right side of my HUD.

" _ **Princess, body analysis indicates you have not eaten,"**_ RC said in my transmitter. Her words caused the X-shaped _**"If we are to uphold the mission of retrieving Voltron, you must be at your full health. I advise you feast on the food goo."**_

"Oh yes, because it looks soooo go," I said rhetorically.

" _ **I detect sarcasm."**_

"RC's right, Princess, you _must_ eat," Coran begged her. "It's been 10,000 years!"

"I'm not hungry," she said, not looking up from the console.

" _ **Voice pattern analysis indicates you are lying."**_ Allura looked at me with a glare. I held up my hands, indicating it's not _me_. Please don't say anything else, RC.

"Man, 10,000 years?" said Lance, as he stood between me and Keith. "That's like one thousand plus ten."

" _ **Your math is wrong."**_

"It's times ten," Keith said after BT.

Lance glared at him. "Whatever, _dropout_."

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving," Hunk said, holding his stomach.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times," Pidge pointed out.

"Hmm... Good point," he said before eating the food goo.

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago," Shiro said with a smile next to me, while Hunk was disgusted by the food. But continued to eat. "It must have been an incredible place."

"Yes, it was..." Coran said, closing his eyes before looking at Allura, "but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive." Allura looked away from him, mourning for all those she's lost. Coran goes to comfort her, resulting in her hugging him and sobbed softly, as he hugged her back.

As I was watching them, I began to hear squeaking. I looked towards the source of the squeaking and found it was coming from Allura's sleep pod. Curious, I made my way around the two Altenas to it.

After approaching it, I looked down at the floor of the pod and was a little surprised to see four mice. They looked like normal mice, but their colors were different. There was a large mouse with yellow and green fur. The smallest mouse had blue fur and blue eyes. There was almost a blue mouse with red eyes and lastly a pink mouse with red eyes.

"Looks like we're not the last, after all." A little startled, I snapped my head to look over my shoulder to see Allura smiling at the mice with a cute blush. Suddenly an alarm blared. Quickly standing up, I saw the console's holographic screen was now red.

" _ **Pilot, I heard the alarm."**_ Even though she wasn't able to express it, I could tell she was worried. _**"What is the situation?"**_

After asking that, an image of a Galra warship, one different from the one that chased us, appeared on-screen. "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us," Coran exclaimed.

"How did they find us?!" The Princess asked, holding the mice in her hands.

"I'm not sure," Lance said, "but I bet it's Keith's fault."

Oh come. Really? Now?

"Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better," Keith responded before glaring at him, "after getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!"

"I'LL STICK YOU IN A WORMHOLE!"

The two butted heads and looked ready to start fighting, only for Shiro to step in and separated them. "Stow it, cadets!" He told them sternly. "This is no time to place blame, it's time to work as a team."

I looked towards the two Altenas and asked, "How long before they arrive?"

"At their speed?" Coran started doing math in his head, while using his fingers. "Oh, well, uh, carry the two... I'd say probably a couple of days?"

"Good," Allura said with determination. "Let them come!

Wait, what?

"By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire!"

Hunk burped out of nowhere, after eating the last of the food goo. Realizing he ruined the moment, he smiled embarrassingly. "Sorry! Food goo," he said before his stomach rumbled, causing him to groan.

"Princess, there are five of these Lions," Shiro reminded her. "How are we going to find the rest?"

* * *

She led us to a different room, this one larger than the control room and had a large crystal of some shorts above on the ceiling. The six of us and Coran stand a few feet away in front of Allura as she stood in the center of the room underneath the crystal.

The princess then closed her eyes and a light from the crystal shined down on her.

"What's she doing," I asked.

"King Alfor connected the Lions to Allura's life force," Coran explained. "She alone is the key to the Lions' whereabouts."

Allura opened her eyes and suddenly we were surrounded by hundreds, if not over a thousand balls of light, each with Altean writing on it. However, as I looked closer and saw star constellations, I was even more amazed to realize that we were in the middle of a space map.

"Whoa," all of us except Coran gasped.

"These are... coordinates," Pidge said, before a planet that showed the Blue Lion and the Black Lion together pasted by my face.

"The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion," I said, pointing at it. Wait, does that mean it's here on this planet or back on Trident?

"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage!" said Coran.

"Very observant," Allura complimented me. "That's because the Black Lion is in the Castle."

"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands," Coran explained, "King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other four Lions are present."

"As you have found, the Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The Quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain."

" _ **If this is true, Princess,"**_ RC said _ **, "then what will happen to my Pilot and myself when we make the neural link that'll bind the two of us?"**_

"I'm not sure, RC," she said. "You're a machine that I've never witnessed before. The quintessence that was given to you may have resorted you power, but after that, I don't know."

"I'll worry about that later," I said. "Right now we have to know where the Lions are."

"Oh, right." She nodded before looking at Shiro, as the small hologram of the Black Lion floated in front of him. "The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, _you_ will pilot the Black Lion." Allura moved the map and had the Green in front of Pidge. "The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, _you_ will pilot the Green Lion. The Blue Lion—"

"—Whope, hold up, let me guess: Takes the most handsome slash best pilot of the bunch?" Lance tried to act suave again, and by the annoyed look of Allura, that wasn't even close.

"The... Yellow Lion is caring and kind," Allura said, sending the Lion to Hunk. "Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together."

Hunk questionably pointed at himself. That's right buddy, you're a leg.

"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master," Allura said, forming the Red Lion in her hands. "It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable." She then pushed the holographic towards Keith. Figures. "Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, _you_ will fly the Red Lion."

"What? This guy," Lance asked, not like that he wasn't given the Lion with the personality that suited his liking.

"You've already got a Lion, dumbass!" I smacked him upside the head.

"Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet," Allura told him. "There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it... might need some work."

"Don't worry, we'll find it soon," Coran told her. "They don't call me 'The Coranic' for nothing." All of us just looked at him. "It's because it sounds like 'mechanic.' So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not—It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar."

The hologram Lions roared bringing our attention to them as the five of them charge together skywards. "Once all the Lions are united, you will form Voltron," Allura said, as the Lions disappeared in a flash of light, and replacing them was the robot Volton. "The most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe."

Damn, that's going to be a _big_ robot.

" _ **Congratulations on all of your promotions."**_

"Awesome!" Hunk exclaimed, but then said, "Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying Lions. Got that part. How do Lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"

"We're doomed," I said.

"You know we don't have much time," Shiro said before looking down at Pidge. "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion." Looked at Lance. "Lance, you take Hunk and get the yellow one." He then placed a hand on Keith. "Keith, you stay here. If you locate that Red Lion, go get it."

"In the meantime, I'll get this Castle's defenses ready," Allura said. "They'll be sorely needed."

"I'll ready a pod a-and load in the coordinates so that you can reach the Green Lion," Coran said.

"If that's the case, then me and RC will link and guard the place," I said. "I'll hold off anyone who tries to attack this place until you get back." I walked towards the exit when Allura called to me.

"Marcus, wait," she said. I stopped and looked at her. "Do you still have the damage battery your Titan had?"

"Oh, uh, right," Hunk said, reaching behind his back and pulling out said battery. Seriously? First Pidge's things and now mine?"

"Good," the princess said with a smile, "then I've have Coran repair it and fill it with quintessence that's still here in the castle."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? RC's at full health. What more could that stuff do to him?"

" _ **Actually, Pilot, the substance known as quintessence has done more for me than my readings have picked up,"**_ RCstated. _**"The damage done to my hail has been repaired completely without the need of maintenance or replacing parts. Damage output has increased and my shields are stronger."**_

I listened to him in amazement. "That's incredible!" I exclaimed with a grin. "You're saying that you're two times stronger than before?"

"You and RC are going to be fighting alongside the Lions, Marcus Moore," Allura said walking up to me. "You'll need all the power you can get. While she's impressive, your Titan is still primitive and lacks the power of Voltron. However, if my theory is correct with giving her the three batteries, she'll be almost as strong as a single Lion. Able to handle what the Galra throws at us."

I really didn't know what to say. I knew nothing was going to match Voltron, but for my Titan to be almost as powerful as at least one Lion? After seeing what the Blue Lion did to that Galra warship, I knew there was only one choice.

"I'd appreciation that, your grace," I said with a bow. Sneaking a look up, I saw her blush a little, making me smile a little.

* * *

About an hour and thirty minutes after Shiro, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk left to retrieve the other two Lions, I was in the courtyard with RC. Keith decided to stand with Allura for when she finds the Red Lion. Coran was somewhere in the castle with the third battery, getting it fixed and fixed with quintessence.

I was currently sitting on top of RC, as she was standing in front of the main castle entrance. I had my helmet off and placed it on my right, while eating a bit of the food goo. It didn't taste all too good, but wasn't bad. I'm not sure how to describe it.

Things were silent between the two of us for the moment, before I asked, "You think they'll be okay?"

" **Coran has stated that the coordinates of the Orange and Green Lions were relatively peaceful,"** RC responded. **"With the Blue Lion, Lance and Hunk's chances of survival are now more likely."** I didn't know if that was supposed to be a joke or her stating what her computer brain was saying. **"As for Shiro and Pidge: Shiro has proven to be a tainted leader and Titan Pilot. With him by her side, Pidge will be alright. Along with the fact that they have their weapons with them."**

"Yeah, you're right." I nodded and was about to take a bite of the food goo when I stop and looked down at her. "Wait, _her_? You're not talking about Pidge, right?"

" **I am. Facial recognition has conferred that Pidge's true identity is really Katie Holt, daughter of MIA Commander Samuel Holt."**

"So this time he—I mean _she_ was a _girl_ ," I asked with shock. "How did I not realize that?!"

" **Katie Holt has taken the appearance of her brother, Matthew Holt, a technician that was accompanied Commander Holt and Shiro on the Hex Expansion Mission."**

Now I was beginning to understand why Pidge got upset with Iverson. Her family's been captured by the Galra and who knows what they're doing to them. I felt sorry for her, but didn't think it was best for me to tell the others. She had her reasons for keeping who she was as a secret and I'll respect it.

"You think we'll be able to survive this, RC," I asked her. "I mean, we're going to be fighting an alien _empire_. The IMC is one thing, but _this_ is totally insane."

" **We have no other options,"** she said after a brief moment. **"We will have to install the final quintessence battery and reclaim the Lions and form Voltron if we wish to survive."**

I nodded at that. Allura was right. If I and RC were to fight with Voltron, then we would have to have that battery ready to go before that warship gets here.

"How long did you serve with Quinton," I then asked, wanting to learn more about my Titan.

" **Captain Quinton linked with me 973 days ago."**

"That's longer than any relationship I've had," I joked, but regretted it instantly.

" **Noted,"** she said, not understand the joke.

I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry. You guys must have been close."

" **He was an excellent Pilot…and a good friend."**

"Ah! There you two are!" Coran's voice said behind us. I turned my torso to look at him, before RC turned around to face him. He was holding something behind his back and I had a fairly good idea on what it was.

"What's up, Coran," I asked.

"I was just coming to give you this—" He pulled out the final battery.

After picking up my helmet and jumping down from RC, I went up to him. He handed me the battery and I took it, look at it in wonder. It looked brand new, with a new color to it that matched the castle's: white with some black and blue. "Thanks, Coran," I said to him with a grateful smile. "You've a miracle worker."

"I know I am," he bragged, twisting one of the ends of his mustache. Letting him have his little moment of glory to himself, I turned to RC.

" **Excellent."** She lowered herself and got on one hand and knee. **"Please insult the final battery, so that we may complete the neural link."** I nodded and walked under her left arm and climbed onto her left leg to the empty battery slot. I then inserted the battery. Jumping off and stepping back, I watched in awe as her body started glowing bright gold. I could feel the quintessence radiating off her chassis, even from where I was standing. Soon the glowing stopped and RC stood back up. **"Power has been multiplied."**

" _Marcus, do you copy?"_ Keith voice came from my helmet's radio.

Putting the helmet back on, I then said, "I'm here, Keith. What's up?"

" _That Galra warship just came out a wormhole and is now orbiting above the planet."_

"What!?" I exclaimed before glaring at Coran.

"Guess my calculations were a bit off," He said nervously. "Finger counting—I-It's more of an art than a science."

"We're on our way," I told Keith before running into the castle. Coran followed after me, and then RC.

* * *

After me and Coran arrived to the bridge, I asked, "What's the situation?"

"It went from bad to worse," Keith said.

"I've been able to locate the Red Lion," Allura said, turning towards us, causing the screens she was looking at to disappear. "Unfortunately, it's on board that Galra ship."

Ah shit. "Where are the others," I asked, it's been over 2 hours already.

Afterwards, however, the door opened and Shiro and Pidge came in. "We're back," Pidge said, "and got the Green Lion." After that, Lance and Hunk entered the room. Unlike the first two, however, they came in groaning and rubbing their own bodies. What the hell helped to them?

"You made it," Allura said with gratefulness.

"Yeah, just barely," Lance said, massaging his left shoulder. "That was a freakin' nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!"

"Think how I felt," Hunk said, rubbing the back of his head. "I am Hunk."

"Yeah... We had a tough time, too," Pidge said before she and Shiro smiled at each other.

Shiro then looked at the princess. "Did we find the Red Lion yet?"

"Yeah. Allura just located it," I said, "But we've got a problem."

"There's a bit of good news and bad news," Coran said after me. "The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again. We're Arus!"

"They're here already," Shiro demanded, as he and the other three looked alarmed.

"That's right. Looks like we're going to…" I stopped my statement when I noticed the window behind me glitch. Turning around, I saw with everyone a video transmission appeared, overtaking the screen.

It showed a purple/mauve-furred alien with yellow eyes and a mammalian like face and a red prosthetic right eye. Looking around his neck, I could see that he was wearing red and black armor.

" _Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire,"_ He said, shocking all of us. So that's what a Galran looks like. _"I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the Lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet."_

The transmission ended wand we were all silent. "He wasn't lying," I asked my Titan, "was he?"

" _ **Negative. He is telling the truth."**_

"All right," said Shiro, "let's not panic."

"Not panic," Hunk asked in disbelief. "Th-The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four Lions."

"Technically, only three working Lions," Pidge stated.

"And RC," I stated.

"That's right. Thank you, Pidge and Marcus." He panted, her shoulder before walking in front of everyone. " _Three_ working Lions, a _Titan_ an-and a Castle that's, like, 10,000 years old."

"A-Actually, it's 10,600 years old," Coran corrected him. "You see, it was built by my grandfather—" Hunk stopped him by putting his finger on his mouth.

"Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that. See? Now is the _perfect time_ to panic!"

"Wait! This Castle has a particle barrier we can activate," Allura said before activating the screen

"Girl, you've already activated my par—" Lance said, before I elbowed him hard in the gut.

On the screen an image of the warship was brought up, before a part that looked like a massive gun was highlighted in red. "The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever," said Coran. "The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last."

"Panic now," Hunk asked.

"No. We've just got to figure out our plan of action," Shiro stated, "aaand... figure it out quickly."

"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day," Lance said.

"I second that," Hunk said "Yes. I mean, we tried to find all the Lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I mean, I guess we could form a... snake? Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about."

"Then, it's settled," Lance said arrogantly. "Allura, you ride with me." He then leaned his head towards Coran. "One of you take the old guy." Coran seethed.

"We can't just abandon Arus," Pidge objected. "The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them."

"Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Trident. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we—" Hunk used his arms to mimic a snake and hissed like one. "—out of here."

"Sendak could destroy the planet then come after us anyway," Keith said. "Staying is our only option."

"Here's an option _: shut your Quiznak_ ," Lance snapped at him, surprising Coran and Allura.

"I don't think you're using that word correctly."

"What do you know, _Mullet_?"

"We're _staying_."

"Leaving!"

Pidge yelled, "Staying!"

Hunk yelled, "Snake!"

 _BANG!_

I fired my Wingman at the ceiling, startling everyone in the room. The Alteans looked the most shocked.

"You all done fighting," I demanded, holstering the revolver. " _Go_! You're supposed to be a team for Christ shakes, yet I don't see one at all! Besides, you're forgetting who has the real say in all of this." I turned towards Allura, making her eyes widened a little.

"Marcus is right," said Shiro, take a few steps towards the princess. "Princess Allura, these are your Lions. You've dealt with the Galra Empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"

"I... I-I don't know," she attempted.

"Perhaps your father can help," Coran said, surprising her a little.

"My father?"

* * *

Coran led Allura out of the bridge and told us to stay here until they returned. That was about ten minutes ago.

Hearing the door opened again, I looked up and was surprised by what I saw.

Allura wasn't wearing her gown anymore. Now she was wearing a skin tight space suit that had large protruding cuffs at the wrist. It was made of an unknown material, largely white and black with pink and blue accents, with a glowing blue at its cuffs and shoulders. While she had her gold circlet and earrings on, her hair was tucked into a neat bun.

Even when suited up for battle, she was still beautiful. I shook my head to clear those thoughts and listened when she began talking.

"You five Paladins were brought here for a reason," She said to all of us. "The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universe's only hope. _We_ are the universe's only hope."

"We're with you, Princess," Shiro said, with everyone having looks of determination.

"Then you guys check your loadouts and ready up. I'll be right back," I told them as I made around them to the door. I noticed that Allura looked puzzled at me, so I looked at her and smirked (helmet was off). "Unless you want to see something pretty amazing." This caused her to blush a little.

* * *

Soon, after Allura told Coran to take the five to get there Paladin armor and weapons, the two of us were walking down the hall towards the vestibule. I was a little surprised that she agreed to come ago, as I was only joking, but nonetheless took her to the where RC was.

Entering it, we saw RC standing in the center of the room staring at us.

"I'm ready," I said, putting on the helmet.

" **Understood."** RC got down on one knee and opened her hatch. **"Please embark when ready."**

I nodded before running and jumped onto the open bottom hatch and grabbed onto the edges of the cockpit. Looking at the seat and controls, I took it in. This was really happening. I was going to link with a Titan. Taking in a deep breathe, I blew it out. "All right."

Grabbing the armrests, I pulled myself into the cockpit, then turned around, and then sat back into the seat.

As I sat in the cockpit, RC got off her knee and stood up, before closing the hatch. Leaving me in complete darkness, with only the small lights of the controls shining.

" **Protocol 1: Link to Pilot."** The same words appeared on my HUD.

" **Establishing neural link."**

I then saw many green lights shine in front of me before an overwhelming sensation filled my body. I couldn't even make a sound as my body began to tremble and shake because of the invading feeling.

Suddenly I was blinded by whiteness.

When I was able to see again, the feeling was gone and I felt normal. But at the same time, I felt…bigger.

" **Neural Link: Established…Rifleman Cadet Marcus Moore – you are now confirmed as Acting Pilot of RC-2049."**

The next protocol came up as RC narrated. **"Protocol 2: Uphold the Mission. Our orders are to find the remaining Lions and form the super weapon, Voltron."**

The screen on the hatch began to activate. **"Protocol 3: Protect the Pilot."**

After the screen activated, I was able to see what was in front of me. Testing it out, I looked down, without doing the action with my own body. Insisted, I was commanding the Titan to do it. I then looked left, then up, then right, then down. I then moved the arms. Bringing the right hand out to look at it, before closing and opening the hand.

"Marcus?" I looked down at Allura, who was staring up at me with wonder. "Are you okay," she asked.

"Never felt better," I said, before commanding RC's right fist to punch her left palm.

* * *

Afterwards disembarking from RC, Allura led me to another room and I was surprised to see my friends not in their Militia jumpsuits, but in futuristic armored suits.

Their armor consists of white body armor of the same material as Allura's that was worn over a black space suit. The armor includes a helmet, cuirass, rerebraces, bracers, belt, cuisses, and knee-high boots. Both the cuirass and space suit had prominent pauldrons of each respective Lion's color, which are mirrored on the Paladin's elbow and knee guards, wrist buttons, boot outsoles, helmet, "V"-shaped symbols, and various areas as decorative accents.

Shiro's color was black, Keith's was red, Lance was blue, Pidge was green, and Hunk was yellow.

However, I was even more surprised to see them not with the weapons they had when they came here with. They were on a table off in the corner. Instead, they were equipped with advanced weapons.

Hunk's weapon was a large single-barreled blaster cannon, Keith's was a long katar, Lance's was a single-shot laser rifle, and Pidge's was a grappling hook-like weapon with a knife head.

However, Shiro didn't have any advance weapons of any kind, and still had his C.A.R.

"So, showed her something amazing, huh," Lance said, getting in my face. He then jabbed his finger into my helmet. "What did you show her?"

Before I could even respond—or punch him in the face—Pidge hits him in the back with her weapon, electrocuting him. Lance screamed and fell over.

I gave her a thumbs up, and she returned the gesture.

"Shiro, I'm afraid your Bayard was lost with its Paladin," Allura told him.

"I guess I'll just have to make do with this," Shiro said, holding up his SMG. "Now let's get to the bridge. I've got a plan."

* * *

 **[Play music:** **Titanfall OST: Lobby Militia 2]**

Going back to the bridge, Allura pulled up Sendak's ship, before standing in front of everyone with Shiro, before starting the mission briefing.

"Listen up," he said to us, "we don't have much time. You probably already know the goal is to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship. And that means getting Keith on board, so that he can feel its presence and track it down. And once he's found it, he'll take command of it and bring it back to the castle, so we can get the Black Lion and form Voltron."

"Keith, remember, the Red Lion is _extremely_ temperamental," Allura stated. "You'll have to _earn_ its respect."

"So what's the plan," I asked.

"Right," He started. "The Galra Empire knows about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, also, or RC. Hunk, Lance, the two of you will act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up. While Sendak is distracted, Keith, Pidge, Marcus, and I will infiltrate onto it in the Green Lion, with RC as back up. Keith, Jack, and myself will find the Red Lion, while Pidge guards our exit. While we're doing that, Hunk, Lance, find some way to take down that ion cannon. We're on the clock, so let's get it down."

 **[End music]**

* * *

About twenty minutes later, and our plan was set in motion.

In space above Arus, I flew RC alongside the Green Lion, as we headed towards the rear of the Galra ship. I was surprised that the Titan was able to keep up with the speed of the advance Lion, but I can only guess that it was because of the quintessence now powering her.

A transmission showed Shiro, Keith, and Pidge at the top of left my HUD. _"Alright, Lance, you and Hunk are up,"_ the Black Lion Pilot said.

The transmission was replaced with one that showed Lance. _"Hope this works,"_ he said. You and me both. _"Attention, Galra ship. Do not fire. We're surrendering our Lions."_

The transmission ended and I saw we were closing in on our destination.

" **Approaching Galra ship,"** RC said. **"Pilot, be ready to disembark."** Slowing her down, I then turned and flipped around to have her feet facing the surface of the ship. About three seconds later, I felt the feet touch the hull. In front of us, I saw the Green Lion land also.

I grabbed the R-201 I switched out the Hemlok for and opened the hatch, disembarking from RC. Carefully using my Jump Kit, I brought myself to stand on the ship. **"Guard Mode: Activated. Be careful, Pilot. We're now in a hostile ship."**

The Green Lion opened its mouth and out can Shiro, Keith, and Pidge, using their suit's built-in jetpacks to bring them close to the ship. Going towards them, I watched as Pidge activated her weapon and cut open an entrance into the ship. Shiro was the first to go in, then Pidge and Keith. I went to the hole and grabbed the edge of it, then angled my body to make it seem like I was standing upside down on my hands, before pulling myself in as hard as I can. Passing many purple lights as I flew through the small, narrow space after the other. After about five seconds I had reached the end of it, and felt gravity take a hold of me again inside of a large, long dark purple chamber with purple lightning bolts connecting from the ceiling to the ground.

I saw I was falling towards the group and quickly flipped my body around and use the Jump Kit in a short burst, stopping me in the air for a moment before landing safety next to them.

" _Pidge, what's your ETA,"_ Lance asked in the communicators.

"We're in," she said. We then looked around for an exit out of our location. We then spotted an exit about five plates away from the one we were on.

Shiro went ahead of us and used his jet pack to jump across the gaps between our platform and the next one. Soon we were all following his example and jumping across.

" _ **Pilot, be advised: Lance and Hunk have started their attack on the ship and have engaged the enemy."**_

"Alright, but don't attack unless they see you," I told her, half way to the exit. After the last platforms were jumped we arrived at the platform that had the exit, in the form of a closed door. I look to the left and saw a security lock panel. "Think this will work," I asked, pulling out the Data Knife and pointing to the panel with my R-201.

"Worth the shot," Keith said, prompting me to walk over to the panel. Stabbing into the edges of it with the Knife, I was able to lift it open. Scanning for anything that were resemble a thin connector slot.

And just my luck, there was.

Chuckling a little, I held the Data Knife in a reverse grip and pressed the small trigger on the handle, causing the hacking blade to pop out. I then stabbed it into the slot, causing three orange holographic interface counter to appear. Once all three of them were one single ring and had turned blue, I pulled out the Knife and closed the panel.

The doors opened. We quickly went in.

We were soon in a hallway that was, you probably guessed, mostly ranging from black to dark purple with purple lights on the wall. Man, these guys love the color purple.

I aimer down the HCOG sights of the R-201 down one end of the hallway, while Shiro aimed down the opposite end. "Dead end this way," he said.

"This way then," I told them and ran down the hall with them following. I then stopped at the right corn of the hallway, as it splits into left and right halls. I walked cautiously close to the wall, I looked around the edge and saw that it was all clear.

I then started walking down the left hall, with Keith and Shiro following. Pidge remained at the corner, acting out her role as the exit guard.

However, me and Keith stopped when we heard Shiro gasped. We turned towards him as Pidge approached him, as he was panting lightly. "I've been here before," he said. "After I was taken by the Galra cruiser off Hex, they brought us here."

"So, that means your other crewmembers, they might be held captive here," Pidge said, hopefully. "We... We've got to rescue them."

"Pidge, we don't have time," Shiro told her, going against his consciousness. "We have to get the Red Lion and get back to Arus."

But we can't just leave prisoners here!"

"Look, no one understands that more than me, but, in war, we have to make hard choices. Now, let's get moving." He turned towards us and started walking down the hallway. I looked at her with empathy, knowing she wanted to look for the prisoners.

"No!" She exclaimed, surprising all of us. "Commander Holt is my father. He and my brother were the ones on the Hex Mission with you."

"Commander Holt is your father," Shiro asked, surprised.

"Yes. I've been searching everywhere for him and my brother. And I'm not going to give up looking when I'm this close. I won't!" Pidge turned around to walk down the other hallway.

"Hold on, Pidge," I told her, luckily getting her to stop. "RC, are there any other life forms on this ship that are not Galra?" This shocked Pidge a little.

" _ **Stand by…I have detected a same group of individuals south of your location,"**_ RC said. _**"I am unable to identify if one of them is Command Holt."**_

I nodded and then looked at Shiro. "Do you remember where the prisoners are held?"

"Yes," Shiro said, before looking at Keith. "Keith, you and Marcus go find the Red Lion. I'm going with Pidge."

"Oh our own," he asked in disbelief.

"Minor change of plans. You'll be fine." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just remember, patience yields focus. So—" Shiro was cut off when a door opened down the other hallway, and light could be seen. "—Run!"

The four of us split into our teams of two. With Keith and I going down one hallway and Shiro and Pidge went down the other.

I felt my heart pounding in my chest as the two of us ran as fast as we could down the corridor. Luckily for us, we didn't encounter any enemies. However, we came to a stop when we came to an intersecting corridor, with what I could guess was the Galra's emblem on the wall above them.

"Great," I groan, panting to catch my breath. "Now, which way?" When Keith didn't respond, I turned my head towards him and noticed that he was staring at it.

Suddenly we heard the sounds of marching, heavy footsteps coming down the left corridor. Thinking quickly, the two of us ran down the opposite one.

Not know where we were going, we ran down different corridors and made many turns on the warship.

However, we stop and groaned when we ended up in front of the emblem again.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Keith growled, painting with sweat running down his face. I was about the same. He then looked and took a deep breath, before closing his eyes. "... 'Patience... yields focus...'" I looked at him and waited. Knowing that he was trying to feel the Red Lion's presence. About five seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked at me with a smirk. "I got it, follow me!"

* * *

After about five minutes, Keith stopped at a door at the end of a corridor. "This is it," he state. "The Red Lion is on the other side of door."

"Alright." I went to the security lock panel, opened it with the Data Knife, stabbed it with said weapon, and was able to unlock the door. Once the doors opened, we ran in and saw the Red Lion. It was held off the ground, with its force-field a complete sphere around it. "Alright, Keith, it's your show now," I told him, nodding towards the giant robot. Keith nodded and ran up to it while I stayed back and watched.

"Bingo. Let's get out of here. Open up," he said, placing his hand on the force-field. However, nothing happened. "It's me. Keith. Your buddy. It's me! Keeeeeeiiiiith, your—I. AM. YOUR. PALADIN!"

I figured this might happen. Keith hasn't proven himself to it yet.

Suddenly a loud noise that echoed in the hangar was made behind me, causing me to turn quickly around and aimed my R-201. A group of what I could only describe as Spectres, but looked more like suits of armor, came into the hangar and opened fired on us.

Keith activated his shield, while I ran backwards towards him, firing at the robots. The rounds tore into one of them, before it collapsed. I stopped firing and quickly hid behind a crate.

"I'm bonding with you!" Keith yelled at the Lion over the gunfire. I aimed my rifle over the crate and started shooting at the robots, trying to keep them off of Keith. "Hey! Come on! We're connected!"

I got back behind the crate and reloaded. "You've got to earn its respect," I told him, before going back to shooting. The spent rounds ejecting at a fast rate. "Show it that you're worthy!"

Keith nodded before summoning his Bayard. "You're not getting this lion!" He then charged at forward and started cutting down the robots.

I followed his example by jumping onto the crate, and then double jumped towards the Galra robots. I unleashed a hail of bullets into them, destroying one, before ripping into the one next to it. When I landed on the floor, saw a robot walking towards me. I quickly kicked it in the chest, leaving a large dent in it as it flew back. I drew the Wingman and shot two more of the robots in the head, making them explode.

However, my attention was caught by Keith having his shield shattered by the laser fire, knocking back.

"Keith!" I exclaimed with worry, before running to him. I kneeled down beside him, reloaded, and then returned fire. Destroying one, then firing about five bullets into the head of another one, destroying it too. "RC! Do you have a fix on our location," I asked, still firing.

" _ **Copy that, Pilot. I have a fix on your location."**_

"Good, because I have an idea," I told her before emptying the mag. It was insane, but we weren't going to last here with more of the robot coming at us. "Keith, come on!" I started running towards a console that was in front of the Red Lion. Keith got up and followed me. When I reached the console I grabbed onto it. "Grab on."

"What's the plan," Keith asked me, after grabbing a hold of the console.

"This." I slammed my fist onto the console.

This caused the airlock doors that were the floor the hanger to open. The air in the room rushed out into the vacuum of space. The Spectre-like robots were sucked out immediately, wide Keith and I struggled to hang onto the console for dear life. Come on, RC. Where are you?

I looked up at the Lion, hoping that it was going to come out of its force-field and help out. However, I saw a piece of metal come and before I could do anything, it hit me. "GAH!" I cried in pain, but I wasn't holding onto the console anymore.

"MARCUS!" I heard Keith's voice yelling to me as I was sucked into space. My body was out of my control as it spun and flipped in the infinite emptiness. I felt myself breathing heavily in my helmet.

"RC!" I called out to my Titan.

About two seconds later, I eyes caught a glimpse of her coming towards before grabbing my body.

" **Got you,"** she said. I breathed deeply for a moment to catch my breath. I then smiled in relief and gave RC a thumbs up. She looked at her hand, twitching her finger for a moment, as if trying to finger out how to use it, before giving me a thumbs up too.

She then opened her hatch before putting me in, and I embarked with her. "Keith! Keith, are you alright?" I called over the communicator.

Thank God I got a transmission. _"I'm alright, Marcus,"_ he said. _"I've got the Red Lion."_

"Alright, then lets—" I was interrupted when RC was shook by multiple hits. I looked and saw Galra fighters coming at us.

" **Hostile fighter incoming."**

"I see them," I said before turning to face them, pulled out the Chaingun and opened fire on them.

Aiming at one of the fighters, I let the hail of 20mm bullets firing at 600 RPM rip it apart, causing it to explode. I then aimed at another one and destroy it. The loss of two of two of their comrades forced the remaining fighters to break off their attack. I wasn't going to let them escape and reloaded.

" **Pilot, might I suggest the Multi-Target Missile System."**

"Oh, right. I have ordnance," I said before look around for the way to activate it. I then noticed that the one of the buttons on the arm rest, near my right middle finger tip was flashing red. I pressed down on it and saw the multiple targeting rings lock onto the fighters.

I then released the button and let the missile towards their targets, hitting them with precise precision.

Suddenly we were hit with more blaster shots. I turned to the right and saw three more fighters come at us. I looked at my left hand and saw a button flashing in front of my middle finger. I pressed it, causing RC's left hand stretched and form and a Vortex Shield formed. The blaster bolt that came at us were sucked into the vortex of energy. Because they weren't bullets or any other, I can't send them back to the fighters. So I pointed the Chaingun at them and fired.

The first one was destroyed without any problem. The two tried to maneuver through the hail of bullets, but was destroyed. The third one tried to escape, but I got him without any trouble.

" **All enemy units destroyed,"** RC said. **"Well done Pilot. Our combat effectiveness rating has increased."**

I turned RC towards the warship and flew towards it. As we neared it, I saw Hunk's Yellow Lion slamming into the ion cannon, disfiguring it. "Go work, Hunk," I cheered as the Red Lion, Blue Lion, and Green Lion appeared alongside me and RC. Flying in formation with the two of us.

 _"You guys made it,"_ Hunk said in his transmission, before it when to Pidge.

 _"Kitty Rose has left the stage!"_ She proclaimed, before the transmission switched to Lance.

 _"Let's get the heck out of here,"_ He said, before the transmission switched back to Hunk.

 _"I hope I stopped that cannon,"_ he said, before following us as we headed for Arus. _"I could barely make a dent in it!"_

" **Princess. The mission has been accomplished: The Red Lion is in our possession."**

Allura appeared on the transmitter. _"Good work, Paladins,"_ she said with a grateful smile. _"You too, Marcus and RC."_ I smiled at that. _"The particle barrier has been activated and…"_

" _You…will…make…me…a…sandwich."_ We then heard what sounded like Coran struggling to do something. Or trying to take a number 2. Oh God, please don't let it be that.

" _Coran. You can stop now,"_ Allura said with an annoyed expression.

* * *

It was the beginning of the sun setting on Arus, as we were inside of the castle in a large chamber. I sat inside of RC, as we stood with the four claimed Lions. Their Paladins inside of them. Before us stood Shiro, as he stood in front of a pair large, tall doors.

As me and RC stood in between the Green and Red Lion, their eyes and blue lights started to shine. So did the Yellow and Blue Lion.

" **Pilot, I am detecting an anomaly with the Lions,"** RC said. **"I believe they are connecting with each other to unlock the door."**

I wanted to say that's great, but got curious. "How do you know, RC?"

" **I have, as you would say…a feeling."**

A feeling, huh? I looked at the door and saw the blue lines on it light up. Afterwards, it opened by raising uppers, revealing the one and only Black Lion. I was left in wonder the sight of it. It was larger than the other Lions, and had what I consider to be a pair of wings on its back.

It activated with its eyes lighting up, before letting out a mighty roar that rocked RC's hail. The other Lions then roared as well. This was it. Shiro was the new Black Paladin.

" **Warning, I detect the Galra warship approaching."**

"What?" I exclaimed before a video showed up on my HUD. Showing the very same ship entering the planet's atmosphere. "Oh, shit." I quickly communicated the princess. "Allura, Sendak…"

" _I know, Marcus,"_ she said with a serious expression. _"I'm looking at it right now."_

" **Princess, our only chance of survival is to uphold our mission of reform Voltron,"** RC stated. **"We must defend this castle."**

" _I agree. We need Voltron now!"_

"Get in the Lion, Shiro," I told them as I activated the thrusters. "I'll meet you guys top side!" I then flew RC over the Black Lion and up a long pathway that went skywards. Soon we exited out of the middle tower of the castle. I flew forward and turned off the thrusters, letting us fall towards the courtyard. I knew she could take the drop. And that meant that so could.

We landed on the ground, with RC kneeling, with me feeling the impacted. But I like I said, it was okay. I stood her up completely, as the Lions landed behind us.

All around the castle, Galra fighters fired at the particle barrier, but none were able to break through.

" **Warning. Ion cannon is preparing to fire. Brace yourself, Pilot."**

I looked towards the warship and saw the ion cannon, fully repaired, charging an attack with purple energy. "Everyone get ready," I told them, having RC brace herself by having her in a ready stance.

At first, I saw the cannon firing it's laser beam at us. Then, I was closing my eyes, growling, and holding on, as RC's hull shook. The particle wall surrounding the castle was covered in a blanket of raging that was enough to make the castle tremble.

" _Man, those Galra guys repair things fast,"_ Hunk said.

"How're you two doing up there," I asked Coran and Allura.

" _We're fine for now, but the barrier gets weaker with every blast,"_ Coran said on the transmitter. _"Once that shield goes down, the Castle will be defenseless."_

" _I can give you cover with the Castle defenses for a while,"_ Allura said, _"but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed!"_

I then noticed three fighters flying low along the length of the broken bridge. Flying in a delta formation. However, I saw that they were carrying…oh on.

The fighters stopped half way from where we were and dropped what they were carrying and flew away.

" _No way…"_ Keith said in disbelief.

" _Are those…"_ Allura's also portrayed her shock.

The Galra fighters have dropped off three Titans.

These weren't any Titans I've ever seen. They looked very much like Legion-class Titans, but were vastly different. They were in the colors of the Galra Empire, with a smoother frame, and a bright purple visor on their chests. They were armed with an alien-looking rifle.

The one in the middle opened its hatch, where the chest was, and showed a Galra soldier yelling. "FOR THE EMPIRE!"

" _They got Titans!?"_ Pidge exclaimed.

" _How's that even possible?"_ Lance asked.

" _It's because of the Legion Titan I with when I was captured."_ Shiro said. _"They must have dismantled it and used it to create their own Titan."_

"If that's the case, me and RC will take care of them," I stated, walking towards the edge of the particle barrier.

" _Are you insane?!"_ Allura exclaimed.

"I have to hold those things off from getting into the barrier," I told her, reaching back and grabbing the Chaingun. "You guys get out there and form Voltron." The ship fired again, covering the barrier in fire. When it went away, the barrier was starting to flash and glitch red in a few places.

" _Marcus is right,"_ Shiro said. _"Listen up, Team Voltron! The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got! This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?"_

We all nodded silently.

" _I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding,"_ Hunk asked.

"Yes."

" _Let's do this!"_ Shire exclaimed, prompting me to dash towards the three Galra Titans, as the Lions followed behind us. The Titans aimed at us and opened fired. Their rifle fire fully automatically at a fast rate. I deployed the Vortex shield as I ran towards them. I looked at my shield level and saw that they were hardly affected at all. In fact, whenever it went down by a single hit, they just reset to 100%.

Whoa, that quintessence was _really_ powerful.

" _Uh, how,"_ Lance asked Shiro, as I started fighting back at the Titan's. The middle Titan was my main target. It was knocked a few times by the 20mm's.

" _Good question. Does anyone have any idea of how to form Voltron?"_

" _I don't see a 'Combine Into Giant Robot' button anywhere on my dashboard,"_ Hunk said as they jumped over me, RC, and the Titans. The enemy mechs followed them with their guns trying to shoot them.

With them distracted, I ran towards the middle Titan at full speed. That when the Titan stopped firing after the Lions ran off the edge of the bridge. It turned back towards me and saw I was coming right at it.

" _Wait, they have a Destroyer?!"_ The Galra pilot exclaimed in shock before aimed its weapon at me and RC, before I grabbed the rifle and forced it upwards and away with RC's left arm, before shooting into its hatch. _"AAAUUUGGHH!"_ The 'Destroyer', as they called their Titans, wasn't able to fight back, making it easier. I stopped firing before slamming the butt off the Chaingun into the robot's face. It slammed into the ground, destroy.

The other Titan's turned towards me. I dashed back from them as they opened fire, before activating the vortex shield.

" _This is insane!"_ Pidge exclaimed after losing her temper, I looked down a little and the Lions were highlighted in red through the bridge. I saw that she'd stopped. _"Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?"_ She then jumped up and had the Green Lion bite down on the wing of a fighter, causing it to explode.

I looked back at the Destroyer Titans and activated the multi-tracking missile. The rocket pod raised up and the circles locked on the two approaching robots. I let them loose, and the Destroyers were knocked back.

" **Pilot, recommend using Hidden Blade,"** RC said. I had no idea what she was talking about, before the Titan brought up her right arm and springing out of her forearm was a large blade that extended past her fist.

" _Quickly, Paladins!"_ Allura said on the transmitter. _"Our energy levels are getting low!"_

"Alright, got to end this fight." I charged at them.

" _Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine,"_ Shiro said. _"Take off on my cue. One, two, three, Voltron!"_ The Lions jumped and took flight.

I ran towards one of the Destroyers, which activate a purple bayonet blade on its rifle and charge at me. I blocked when it tried to stab me by grabbing the rifle and pushing it back. Then quickly stabbed in the middle of the Destroyer, right into the cockpit. The Destroyer stumbled, before I yanked out the Hidden Blade and kicked the Galra machine back, sending it off its feet and flying back a few meters before bounce against the bridge's floor.

I then turned towards the last Destroy and saw it in a fight pose, aiming the rifle with the blade out at me and RC. I retracted the Hidden Blade and charged at the Titan. It fire and knock us back a few steps before I was able to activate the Vortex shield again. I then activated the thrusters and jumped into the air. With the assistance of the thrusters, I was able to jump over the Destroy and land behind it.

It turned to me and RC and was about to fire again, but I acted quickly and charged at it. I stroke it with the back of my left fist and then punched right through its hatch and into the cockpit. I grabbed the Pilot inside and pulled out. I looked at saw it was one of those Spectre-like robots. I crushed it with little hesitation and kicked the damaged Destroyer done, making it explode.

I breathed a sigh of relief and contacted the princess. "Allura, all threats on the ground have been eliminated," I told her.

" _That's good, but the Paladins at in trouble,"_ she said with a worried expression. _"Look!"_

I looked up and was shocked to see the Lions trapped in a tractor beam from Sendak's warship. This was bad, but it couldn't get any worse. However, that ended up being false when the ion cannon fired again.

It hit the castle again, and before I could turn fully around to see what the damage was, I and RC were knocked back by the shockwave. Landing on our back, before I quickly got her to stand up again. I looked at the castle and witnessed the particle barrier go out in a flash.

"Oh, no!"

" **Particle barrier has been destroyed. Pilot, we are out of opinions. We must go on the offensive."**

I nodded and activated the thrusters. "Hang on you guys," I exclaimed, lifting RC off the ground before heading towards the warship. "I'm on the way!"

Allura's transmission appeared, and she looked stern yet worried. " _Are you insane?! You wouldn't be able to take out that ship alone!"_

"It's the only opinion we have left," I told her, passing by the Lions.

" _What are you doing,"_ Shiro yelled.

"I'm filling in," I told him. "Get out of that tractor beam and take this thing down, or we're all going to die!"

I flew to the top of the cannon and brought out the Hidden Blade again. I slashed the armor of the cannon, before doing it again, forming an X. I retracted the blade and then grabbed the cuts I made, before trying to force them open. After opening them just enough, I took out the Chaingun and quickly opened fire. The few bullets I was able to fire into the weapon did a massive amount of damage and even caused a fire.

But I wasn't fast enough.

" **Pilot, we're out of time,"** RC said, making my heart jump and look up at the end of the cannon, see that it was about to fire.

However, I felt the gun suddenly jerk before firing. The sudden move caused me to stumble for a moment before regaining control. I looked and saw the blast fly past the castle and hit the edge of the land the counted to the sea, where it caused a massive explosion. However, I and RC were suddenly surrounded in a thick shroud of brown smoke.

I looked towards the left side and wasn't able to see much of anything. That is until a pair bright yellow eyes stared at me and a silhouette was formed. A very large silhouette.

When the dust cloud cleared and I was left in awe.

It was Voltron.

It was just like how I saw it in the vision on Trident. 100 meters tall and was made up of all the Lions. The Blue and Yellow Lions made up the legs, the Red and Green Lions were the arms, and the Black Lion was the torso and the head, with its mouth opened to reveal a face in it, and had given the giant its red wings.

"Voltron…" I gasped in shock, as the giant robot had punched the ion cannon, getting it to fire away from the castle.

 _"I can't believe it!"_ Keithexclaimed with excitement.

 _"We formed Voltron!"_ Pidge exclaimed with the same amount of joy.

 _"I'm a leg!"_ Hunk yelled.

 _"How are we doing this,"_ Lance asked.

 _"I don't know,"_ Shiro said _, "but let's get that cannon!"_ Voltron grabbed the ion cannon and began to pull. I quickly got RC off of the weapon and took flight, before they ripped the barrel of the cannon off and threw it away.

"This is amazing," I exclaimed with a big grin, watching the action for a good distance.

" **Pilot, Burst Core is ready,"** RC said, and I quickly activated the Core ability. RC dropped the magazine that was already in the gun and loaded another one. This one was filled with Arc Rounds. **"Be advised, with the quintessence in my systems, the Arc Rounds will do more damage and will not be limited to one mag. You'll have a five minutes to use this ability."**

That's all the time I need. "Mind if we join the party," I asked the guys.

" _By all means,"_ Shiro said, before punching Voltron's right arm into the ship and firing a laser that went out the other side. Resulting in a massive that nearly broke the ship in half.

I took to the air and started unleashing the hail of Arc Rounds onto the warship. The increase automatic fire shot out a stream of gold rounds that punched into the hull of the ship, creating explosions with each hit. I hosed the ship with these bullets down the length of it.

" **Pilot, I've found the main reactor of the warship,"** RC said, highlighting it on my HUB. It was near the rear of the ship, in front of the thrusters.

I nodded and looked at Voltron. "You guys continue wrecking this thing and I'll take out the main reactor," I said to them.

" _Copy that,"_ Shiro said. _"Good luck."_

I then turned to the where the reactor was and flew towards it and high speeds. I up away the Chaingun and brought up RC's arms for impact. To my amazement, we broke straight through the armor of the ship and were in the chamber that held the main reactor.

I looked towards the main reactor, which was sphere shaped, aimed the Chaingun at it and unleashed the hail of bullets on it. The Arc Rounds tore into the reactor and stopped only when I mag-dumped the entire magazine. The thing was practically nonexistent and purple electricity was raging everywhere. Destroy every area they make contact with.

One of the bolts hit me and RC, causing us to stumble back. I looked and the shield gage and saw the shield was gone, only to slowly recharge to full capacity. "We're out of here," I exclaimed and quickly the way we came and ignited the thrusters, flying RC out of the ship and max speed.

Once we were off the ship and at a go distance, I turned around while hovering in the air and watched as the destruction of the main reactor set in motion a series of explosion from within the warship, ripping and tearing it apart, before one large final explosion engulfed the ship.

I felt a presence behind me, but knew it was Voltron hovering behind me.

" _Good job, Marcus,"_ Shiro said sincerely.

" **I agree, well down Pilot,"** RC said. We'll work on my name later. **"We have completed the mission and have formed Voltron. Our combat effectiveness has doubled."**

"Thanks, RC," I said, before letting out breathe of relief. It was over. Time to head back.

I directed RC towards the castle and head towards it. Voltron followed us.

* * *

Within a few minutes, the Lions had broken apart and their Paladins were out of them. I was out of RC and two of us were standing with the others. I, like them, was exhausted from the nonstop fighting and had taken my helmet off to breathe more freely.

I then spotted Allura and Coran running towards us with joyed expression. "Good work, Paladins!" She congratulated us.

"Thanks, pretty lady," Lance said, still trying to hit on her.

Not wanting to be left out, I cleared my throat. It got her attention and she approached me and RC. "And good worker to you too, Marcus and RC," she said, making me smile.

"We did it," Shiro said, catching his breath.

"Heck yeah, we did," Keith said, taking off his helmet.

"How did you guys do it," I asked in wonder.

"I was just, like, screaming the whole time," Hunk said, struggling to take his helmet off for a moment before succeeding. "Maybe that did it." He nudged Pidge's shoulder, but she didn't look all that happy about our victory. She looked dejected. I knew how much she wanted to find her missing family on the ship, but was unable to.

Shiro saw this too, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you," he said to her, making her smile.

"We won the battle, but the war has only just begun," Allura stated to us all. "I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these Lions."

"Good thing you Paladins know what you're doing," Coran said, "because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

"Totally—Wait, what," Hunk asked, as he and Lance were a little taken back.

"We barely survived forming Voltron this one time," Lance said.

"And you only had to fight one ship," Coran said, pointing at us. "Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

That statement seemed to surprise all six of us. We had to defend the whole _universe_? That was a little too much. I mean, the Frontier is just one system of planets that we were willing to defend in the Militia. However, as a Pilot of the Frontier, it was my duty to protect it, for the IMC or any threat that would come to it. "Defenders of the Universe, huh?" I said out loud with a smirk and hand on my chin. "That's got a nice ring to it."

"You're staying," Shiro asked, bring me to look and see everyone looking at me.

"Of course I am," I said with a nodded. "Is there a problem with that?"

Princess Allura sighed a little before walking towards me. "I know I said that you'll be fighting alongside Voltron, but you don't have, you know," she told me with genuine worry. "This doesn't have to be your fight. I could open a wormhole to your Frontier and you can…"

"But it is my fight! The Galra Empire is a threat to the Frontier." I said firmly, surprising them a little. "I get it, okay. I no Paladin. Heck, I don't even think I can call myself Pilot." The response seemed to have taken her back a little. "RC was never meant to be my Titan…and I never planned to be her Pilot...I was just in the right place, at the wrong time." I looked down a little before looking back at them again. "But I've learned that sometimes you don't get to choose your path…it chooses you." I then turned my body towards RC, with the Lions behind. "And whether or not I was meant for this, or to even be here, doesn't matter…because now…we're all that stands between salvation and extinction." I honestly had no idea where that speech came from. All I did was speaking from the heart. However, it was enough to leave them speechless.

I looked at them and saw Allura's worried and surprised face turn to a bright smile. Then Coran smiled, before the others.

I heard a mechanical sound and looked to see had RC lowered herself a little and held out her fist to me. **"Captain Quinton told me that 'fist bumping' is a form of creating a bond,"** she said.

I looked a little surprise for the moment before smiling.

I then bumped my fist with hers.

* * *

 **And that conclusion to the first chapter of "Become ONE."**

 **Thank God it's finally over. This has got to be the longest and hardest chapter I've ever done. The reason it was hard was because it's the first time I've ever done a POV story.**

 **The Hidden Blade that RC came from a concept art that showed the idea of having the Ronin's Broadsword be a hidden blade like in** _ **Assassin's Creed**_ **.**

 **Not much else to say other than I'll be working on "Weirder Things" for a while. The reasoning is because I've been in a** _ **Gravity Falls**_ **mood for a while and I feel as though it could use some more attention. I'll only do about five chapters in it, with one being an original chapter.**

 **That's it for today. If you like this story and what to see more, then please favorite, follow, and leave a review on the chapter to let me know how you feel about it. Thank you for reading and have a good day!**


	2. Some Assembly Required

**Moore's Logbook:**

 _The situation we were in now was beyond what we trained for. How could we have known this would happen?_

 _After we defeated Sendak and his forces, we accepted our role of taking on Zarkon and the Galra. My friends became the Paladins of Voltron, a giant robot superweapon that was the thing that could stand in the Emperor's way._

 _As me and RC? I really don't know what our role was in this fight. But I'm not going anywhere._

* * *

" **Some Assemblage Required"**

 _I dreamt that I was ten again. I was standing in the middle of a field of tall wheat, as the sun beats down on my face. This place was unmistakable to anyone who's been here._

 _It was the Planet Harmony._

" _Marcus!"_

 _That voice…I knew that voice. Turning my head, I saw the familiar silhouette of my mom standing a few meters away from where I was. I didn't think twice and started running towards her._

 _However, as I got closer, the sun grew brighter. I tried to shield my eyes from it, but it wasn't long before all I could see was whiteness._

I gasped and jolted upwards, then looked around at my surroundings. I was in my bedroom inside of the Castle of Lions. Hanging near the slipping door was my crimson combat jumpsuit, with the Pilot armor and equipment still attached to it. The weapons that we brought to this Planet, Arus, were leaning against the far corner of the room. With nowhere else to put them, it was best I could do. And then on the desk in the back of the room was my Pilot helmet.

Realizing it was just a dream, I fell back on the bed. Blowing air out, I closed my eyes again to get some more sleep.

That was until the alarms of the Castle of Lions started blaring.

Oh, come! What now?

 _"Everybody up!"_ Princess Allura's voice shouted over the intercom. _"Zarkon's attacking!"_

Oh, shit! I quickly threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. Wearing only underwear and a tank-top, it made it easier for me to grab my jumpsuit and quickly on and then put on my boots. Because Titan Pilots, and even grunts need to be ready for combat on a moment's notice, the suits were designed to be easy to put on, even with the pieces of armor on it. I then grabbed my helmet and pulls it on.

" _The Castle's about to be destroyed!"_

Patting myself to make sure everything on equipped, I then grabbed the Hemlok. Locked and loaded, I ran out of the door.

" _Go, go, go! We need Voltron and RC now!"_

We're coming, woman! As I was running down the corridor, I saw Shiro ahead of me, wearing his new Paladin armor. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Keith, Pidge, and Hunk running behind me, but they weren't in uniform.

A moment later, and we reached the Bridge. Rushing in, we came to a stop when seeing Allura and Coran standing at the monitors. "Hurry! We can't survive much longer," the alien princess exclaimed into the microphone, wearing her battle suit.

That's when the adrenaline lowered, and I wonder if we were really being attacked, because it didn't feel like it.

"You've got to sell it a little bit more," Coran told her. Okay, so it's a drill. Allura handed the Coran microphone. He cleared his throat. "Oh, no! Allura is dead!" The sudden, over the top, dramatic act seemed to have startled her, while I looked at him in a 'WTF' way. "Aaaah! It's horrible! Her head fell off!" He then squatted down. "Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?"

Allura turned her head and noticed us. "Coran..."

"Oh, yes, Princess, I'm listening!"

"It's over," she said with an irked expression.

"Oh, I know!" He exclaimed dramatically, turning his body towards us. "Uaaaagh! If only Voltron had been formed..." Coran opened his eyes and finally saw us. "—Oh! Time!" He shot up to his feet and threw the microphone.

"I guess this isn't an actual attack," Shiro said.

" _ **Negative,"**_ said RC-2049, or RC, my Titan through my helmet. _**"Orbital scans indicate that no other ships are around Arus."**_

"And it's a good thing it wasn't," Allura said sternly, "because it took you... Coran?"

"Seventy-five degrees," Coran said, looking at a small device.

What? "What," I asked.

The thing then beeped like it was a cooking timer. "Oh, sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer," he said in embarrassment.

"However long it was, it was too long," Allura told us as she walked up to us. "You must always be ready to do battle with Zarkon. Look at you! Only Shiro and Marcus is in uniform." At lease she didn't forget about me.

"Actually," Pidge interrupted her, before gesturing to the Militia jumpsuit and jacket she had on, "these are uniforms. And they're no different than Marcus'."

"Yeah, but I have Pilot armor on," I replied, patting the chest plate. I then felt as though something was missing. That we were missing someone. Realizing I hadn't heard Lance hit on Allura today, I looked around, but he wasn't even in the Bridge. I looked at them. "Where is Lance?"

The doors slide opened and we looked to see Lance enter the Bridge, wearing a blue robe and slippers that were in the shape of his Blue Lion. I shit you not. He yawned, looking well-rested, and smiled at us. "Good morning, everybody," he greeted us. Lance did this shit all the time back on Trident, and it would get us all in trouble! "What's going on?"

"Oh, you know. Just wondering why the Militia took you in," I said.

He slicked his hair back. "My dashing good looks."

"I refuse to believe that."

"Oh, you know. Just wondering why the Militia took you in," I said.

He slicked his hair back. "My dashing good looks."

"I refuse to believe that."

"Hey!" Hunk yawned. "You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Trident. You know, training to fight the IMC. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Zarkon, eaten goo in some weird Castle. That's a lot to process in, uh..." He stopped for a moment to think, scratching his left cheek. "I don't know. What day is today?"

"It's the third quintant of the Spicolian movement," Coran said.

English, motherfucker! Do you speak it?

"Hump day!"

That's better.

"—It's a lot to process."

"You must understand the stakes of our mission," Allura said before summoning a holographic keyboard. After typing in a few buttons, she brought up the map of the universe that filled the bridge. "Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations." We then watched in dread as many of those blue beacons became red. "So, we have to assume that Zarkon has conquered almost the entire known universe." Oh damn. She then moved the map to show us a familiar region. "The region you call the Frontier is here. An attack on your system is inevitable."

"Oh no…" Hunk gasped. I couldn't blame him. My grip on the Hemlok tightened.

"Exactly. Our mission is to free all those planets. Coran and I are getting the Castle ready to leave Arus." Wait, what? "During that time, you have to learn to form Voltron, so we can begin fighting Zarkon."

"The Princess is right. Let's get to our Lions and start training," Shiro said. "You too, Marcus. You and RC will train with us."

I nodded. "Copy that, sir," I said. "You ready, RC?"

" _ **Copy that, Pilot."**_

"Wait," Pidge said, looking over her shoulder at him. "But I want to talk to the prisoners we rescued from the Galra ship."

"Ah, negative, Number Five," Coran said, using his hands to show her size. "I have you ranked by height, okay?" After that, he straightened up again. "The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow."

"That's right. Now, get to your Lions and Titan," Allura told us.

I nodded before turning around and running out of the room. They others had their own quick, yet overly complicated way of getting to their Lions for the Bridge. I on the other hand had to run towards the Castle's shuttle bay. Not a process I wanted to do all the time, but I couldn't really complain all too much. As long as I know where she is.

Without a moment, I was walking towards a large set of doors. They opened when a got within a foot away from them, and I entered. The mention I walked in, I saw RC kneeing down in the center of the bay. There were also the shuttles that the bay was for. Up to six of them, but I wasn't focused on that.

"You ready," I asked RC, as I walked up to her.

" **I'm combat ready,"** she responded and opened her hatch. Smiling, I ran towards the Titan and then used a boost jump to land on the open hatch. Turning around, I sat in the chair, and the doors closed. **"Controls transferring to Pilot."**

"Alright then. Allura, can you open the shuttle bay doors." As I took control of RC, I turned around and faced the circular sealed door that were the exit out of the Castle.

Allura's face appeared on the transmitter. _"Will do,"_ she said before disappearing from my HUD. The sealed door then slides open, giving me and RC our way to join the others.

Activating the thrusters on her back, I hovered off the floor and then rocketed towards the opening. Speeding out of the Castle, I flew upwards and did a little spin. Flying was a great feeling. It was also like you were free.

Flying over the top of the Castle I saw four of the Lions out on the broken bridge. With a smile, I flew down towards them. I waited until we close enough, before angling RC so that her legs were pointing downwards and adjusted the thrusters to slow us down. Within half a second, I turned them off and landed in front of the Lions. Skidding across the bridge until coming to a halt.

Pidge appeared on my HUD. _"Nice landing,"_ she complimented.

"Thanks," I said, looking at her. I then looked at the four of them…wait. I sighed. Not this again. "Where's Hunk?"

" _I think he's stuck,"_ Lance said.

"Well, should someone go in after him," I asked, before hearing the sound of Hunk's Yellow Lion flying towards us.

 _"Hey, sorry, everybody,"_ Hunk said, joining the other Lions when he landed. They all then turned around to face the other end of the bridge. _"Seriously, though, can't they park these things, like, a little closer to the Bridge?"_

This was mostly their training exercise, I popped open RC's hatch. _"All right, guys,"_ Shiro said, as I climbed on top of my Titan's chassis, where I stood and watched. _"Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync."_

Allura appeared on the transmitter. _"Feel the bond with your Lions and your fellow pilots until five become one unit and you form Voltron!"_

 _"Yeah!"_ The five of them jumped and took off, flying in sync with each other.

" _Yeah!"_ They cheered again, flying in one direction.

They then flew in another direction. _"Yeah!"_

They then flew in another direction, again. _"…Yay…"_ They groaned, becoming less enthusiastic.

"You ah…You guys know what you're doing, right," I asked the Paladins with arms crossed. Understanding their decreasing excitement. I was helping to see Voltron again. "Because it doesn't seem to be working."

" _Let's set down for a little bit and try something else,"_ Shirosaid.

Keiththen said, _"Maybe we should be building Voltron from the ground up."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"I mean, let's try literally building Voltron, like, stacking on top of each other."_

Lance then appeared on the transmitter. _"Like a cheerleader pyramid,"_ he asked like it was the silliest thing he's, before the image on my HUD goes back to Keith.

 _"You got a better idea?"_

Shiro then said, _"It's worth a try."_

A moment later, after following the Lions down to the ground and going further away from the Castle, I was back inside my Vanguard looking at what resulted of them stacking themselves in disbelief. It was a mess! They were completely out of order, and looked like they were going to topple over at any second.

To give you an idea, Pidge and Lance were at the bottom, as Keith stood on both of them. Shiro had his Lion's hind legs standing on the Green and Blue Lion, while the forelegs were standing on the Red Lion's back. And then to top it all off, Hunk's Yellow Lion was standing on the wings of the Black Lion.

With my arms bounded to the Pilot's seat, I had RC's hand place on her face to show my disappointment. "Hunk, what are you doing," I asked.

 _"What do you mean,"_ Hunk asked.

 _"You're supposed to be the leg,"_ Shiro said, _"over there."_

 _"What? No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time, I was the head. Right?"_

 _"You yelled, 'I'm a leg!'"_ Lance exclaimed.

 _"Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things."_ Hunk tried to rationalize.

Keith said, _"Shiro's the head."_

 _"All the time?"_

Oh, for the love of god! "RC, where are they supposed to be," I demanded.

" **The Black Lion is the head of Voltron. The Red Lion is the right arm, while the Green Lion is the left arm. The Blue Lion is the right leg and the Yellow Lion is the left leg."**

"… _Are you sure?"_

"Hunk!" I exclaimed angrily, before taking a deep breath to calm myself. "Let's just…try it my way for now, okay?"

 _"Okay, but next time I call head."_

And so, after about two minutes, Hunk, Lance, Keith, and Pidge were in the correct positions. All that was left was Shiro. I watched from it front of them as the leader carefully hovering the Black Lion above the others. He positioned himself at the right angle, before lowering down and stood on top of Keith and Pidge's Lions. _"Feel the bonds with your Lions,"_ Shiro instructed everyone, except me. _"Now, channel your energy into forming Voltron."_

Just then Allura transmitted me. _"It's not only them that must create a bond, Marcus,"_ she said.

"What do you mean," I asked.

" _Do what they're doing, and channel your energy to form a bond between you and RC."_

"No disrespect, Allura, but I don't think that'll work," I replied honestly. "RC's not like the Lions. She's a Titan."

" _You're right, and it wouldn't have worked if it was not for the quintessence that's now powering her,"_ she said with a hopeful smile. _"I believe in you."_

Call me a sucker all you want, but if a beautiful alien princess tells you that last part, would you not do it? I inhale before exhaling. "Alright," I said before closing my eyes. I then reached out with my feeling, trying to find a connection between and my Titan. All I need to do was Focus.

Focus...

Focus...

And…nothing happens.

 _"Is everyone bonding and focusing,"_ Shiro asked everyone.

I opened my eyes and asked, "You feeling anything, RC?"

" **Negative."**

 _"Why was this so much easier before,"_ Lance asked.

Shiro sighed. _"Let's take a break."_ I couldn't agree more. We have been going at this for ten minutes.

But just then, Allura appeared again on the HUD. _"Sorry to interrupt, but I may be able to help,"_ she said. Yes! Finally, some help. _"Yesterday, you weren't able to form Voltron until you were in the heat of battle."_

Couldn't argue with that, and by the voice of the others, I'd say we all agreed and wanted to hear more of what she had to say.

 _"Perfect. Because I need to run a diagnostic test on all of the Castle's defenses,"_ Allura said, pressing a few buttons. Oh, I don't like the sound of that. _"This should help!"_

Right after she said that, the particle barrier was activated, surrounding the Castle in a large dome. But then blue laser beams were fired off of the barrier.

Oh, don't tell me.

" **Warning, friendly fire incoming."**

After arching in the air, the beams fell down towards us, and instead of leaving burns in the ground like any other laser beams, they started exploding! We all screamed and started running away from the bombardment.

"Allura, what the hell are you doing!" I yelled, and ran as fast as RC could from the explosions.

 _"Running a diagnostic test on the Castle defenses and inspiring you!"_ Allura smile on the transmitter. _"I believe in you Marcus and I believe in you, Paladins! Let fear be your guide! Bond with your Titan and form Voltron!"_

"YOU ARE INSANE!"

" _Oh, forget this!"_ Lance exclaimed. I turned my head towards him and saw the Blue Lion stop and turn around. _"I'm heading back to the Castle!"_ He then ran in the Castle's direction.

"Lance, wait!" I called out to him, before an explosion went off near RC's heel, almost throwing the two of us off. Then an idea came up. "That's it! RC, can you activate your Dome-Shield?"

" **Affirmative. I advise against it, for it would require me to remain still."**

"I'll be ready to move when the time comes," I told her. "Just do it!" I stopped RC and turned around, seeing more lasers coming down at the two of us. I quickly activated the Dome-Shield. RC extended her arms out to the sides and the Dome-Shield was put up. Turned out, it worked, but I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't be about to make it out of it when it drops in 25 seconds.

Hunk's face appeared on the HUD, and he didn't look like he was having fun at all. _"Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!"_

Allura replaced him on the screen, as I felt sweat running down my face when the tempter started rising in the cockpit. _"You think Zarkon is going to have mercy on you,"_ she asked with a scowl. _"He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!"_

"And what good are we going to be if we're nothing but a pile of ash," I snapped.

" _You'll live. I've got so more work on the Castle to do. You six are to continue training until you bond and form Voltron."_

"Wait, WHAT?" The transmission ended. "Allura! Goddammit!" I yelled.

And then the Dome-Shield dropped.

* * *

With my helmet off, I moaned as I looked up at the ceiling, wondering how the hell we survived.

After the Dome-Shield dropped, I was thrown back in the meat grinder with the others. Dodge lasers and running for our lives. However, after a while, the lasers stopped. With nothing to do, we all went back into the Castle.

We were exhausted. Sure, Titan Pilot training was difficult and I was bruised up in it, but at least it didn't involve live ammo and real explosives. So I and four of the Paladins laid on the couches in the Castle Lounge. Shiro wasn't with us.

After a moment, Allura and Coran entered the Lounge. "Are we at full power on condenser number five yet," the princess asked, bringing me to stand on my feet.

"No, still just 84 percent," Coran informed her.

"What the hell, Allura?!" I shouted, starting them while also getting their attention, pointing at her. "What's the big idea shooting at us?! You could have killed us!"

"I advise you watch your tone when speaking to the princess," Coran demanded.

"Up yours!" I gave him the bird.

"Okay, okay," Allura said, stepping forward. "I admit it wasn't the best way to train you six, but look on the bright side. You did it! You formed Voltron!"

Keith sighed and said, "No. The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in."

Allura didn't look happy about that. " _What?_ "

Coran looked at the device he was holding. "Oh, right," he said. "Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the Castle defenses to test the fire suppressors."

Hearing the doors slide up, I turned around to see Shiro entering the room. "What are you guys doing in here," he questioned us like a commander would. "We're not taking a break."

"Shiro's right," Allura said. "You should be training."

"We've been training," Hunk complained. "When are we going back to Trident?"

"I'm not going back until I find my family," Pidge said in defiance.

"We can't go back," I told them, making them look at me. "Look, I want to go back to the Frontier just as much as you, Hunk. We signed up to free our home from the IMC. But if we don't figure out how to fight Zarkon, none of that is going to matter, and the Frontier isn't going to last. We're all that stands in his way."

"Yeah, but the IMC is one thing, Marcus," Lance said, standing up. "How are we going to fight Zarkon? We can't even figure out how to form Voltron."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Coran said. "You know, the original Paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side-by-side. They were like a pack of Yalmors linked at the ears."

"Wow. Yeah, that's definitely not us," Lance said, collapsing on the couch.

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far," He informed us. "Take Marcus and RC, for instance. While the Titan is a machine being controlled by him, the two were able to work together as a team. And now you'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Voltron and then beating Zarkon next time. You should try working out on the Training Deck."

We all looked at him. "There's a Training Deck," asked Hunk.

And we're just being told this now?

* * *

Moments later, the six of us were standing in a dark chamber with no lights on. If this was the Training Deck, then how come we couldn't see?

Just then, I heard Coran's voice on my helmet's communicator. He cleared his throat before saying, _"Two, two, one, two."_ Then the lights in the Training Deck came on, and we got a good look at it. It was a large and wide area with an observation tower on the side. The colors of it were the same as the Castle's. White and dark gray, with glowing blue lines crossing and stretching all over. _"Okay, listen up, guys. The Paladin code demands that you put your team members' safety above your own."_

So, all we have to do is keep each other safe? That's not a big problem.

" _A swarm of drones is about to attack."_

Wait, what?

Two circular doors on the walls opened, releasing three flouting drones in the shape of spheres from them.

" _It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team."_ Coran instructed us before the six drones started circling around the six of us. Keith and Pidge quickly activated their energy shields. I reached from where I have my weapon hanging, but the Hemlok wasn't there. I then remembered Coran telling me that it's wouldn't be needed. Great, I was unarmed.

Hunk seemed confused. "Wait, wait, wait. What's going on—Whoa!" His shield activated on his right arm. Shiro and Lance at least activated theirs with no trouble. "Did you guys get one of these?"

Unbelievable. "Just get ready," I told him. If I can just stay in the middle of them, I'll be safe.

The Altean drones open fired, shooting lasers from their eyes. Hunk got spooked and ducked his. The shot that was supposed to hit him, ended up striking Pidge. She grunted from the impact, before screaming when a hole opened up under her feet and she dropped into.

Oh, god! I'm doomed! Then Hunk was hit, and he dived down into the hole that opened under his feet. Okay, maybe I do have a chance.

 _"Protect your teammates or no one will be there to protect you!"_ Coran exclaimed. _"That means you too, Marcus!"_

"How am I supposed to do that?" I snapped, ducking under a laser beam. Shiro, Keith, and Lance huddled closer to me to defend themselves and me.

 _"You'll have to figure that out. Time to increase intensity."_ The drones not only started moving around them fast, but they started shooting much more rapidly. This cause the three of them to struggle more. Oh, what I wouldn't give for an A-Wall right about now.

"You keeping up over there, Keith?"

Lance, don't you dare start!

"Just concentrate on keeping me safe," Keith replied.

Lance scoffed. "Me? I own this drill. You're the one who needs to concentrate." Lance, I swear! Suddenly the drone went low. I didn't react fast enough and then…

OW THAT HURT! I was hit right in the chest and back, and then was falling down my hole. Screaming as I fell down the hole, I stopped when I landed hard on my back. Groaning in pain, I looked around the room and saw that it was mostly black with blue glowing lines. Hunk and Pidge were here too, getting up from their falls.

I got up to sit on my ass, when Keith came falling down. Then Lance, and finally Shiro.

I sighed and lay back on my back. "This is going to be a long day," I groaned.

* * *

Next, most of us were on the observation tower with Coran. Lance wasn't with us, instead, he was alone in on the Training Deck. He was standing in the middle of a holographic maze that was made up in the deck. "To form Voltron, you must trust in each other. This ancient Paladin maze will teach you that trust," Coran said to Lance

Then the maze disappeared.

"Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock."

Lance slips on his helmet. _"Wait. Who's guiding me through?"_

"Take two steps forward," Keith spoke to Lance through a microphone.

 _"Oh, no. Not Keith. Why does he get to be the man on the mic?"_

"Now, just sit tight. You'll get your turn," Coran said.

"Like I said, take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps that direction," Keith instructed Lance. Lance followed the orders, but didn't take two steps forward and walks into a wall, getting painfully shocked.

 _"You did that on purpose!"_

"You're not listening."

 _"You said, 'Turn right.'"_

"But, before that, I said, 'Take two steps forward.'"

 _"Two steps—"_ Lance stepped in the wrong direction again and got shocked again. _"We're switching places right now!"_

Jesus Christ, we're terrible at this.

* * *

For the next test, the five Paladins were in their Lions and I was in RC as we were flying through the sky. We were making terrible progress, and we needed to get our act together. I was now wearing a different helmet that my Pilot helmet. Why Coran wanted me to wear it, I don't know.

 _"You'll never be able to form Voltron unless each of you has a strong bond with his Lion,"_ Coran said to us from the Castle's Bridge. _"Oh, and you and RC too, Marcus."_

 _"No problem,"_ boasted Lance _. "Me and Blue are best buds for life, for real."_

 _"Perfect! Then you won't have any issues with this exercise. Everyone, put your Lions into a nose dive!"_

I nodded and adjusted myself in the seat. I stopped all thrusters and as we started to descend from our height, I angled my Titan to have her head pointing down in a dive. "Okay, Coran. What are we doing?"

" _Alright, listen up. This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but, uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go."_

"That doesn't sound safe."

 _"Like I said. We're in a rush. Activating training helmets!"_

I gasped when visors suddenly went dark. From my radio, it sounds like each Paladin's helmet was the same. And if there were any doubts, Lance screamed. _"Coran, what's happening?! I can't see!"_

 _"You must learn to see through your Lions' and Titan's eyes,"_ said Coran. _"The goal is to pull up right before you crash into the ground. Feel what the Lion and feels! Oh, and RC too!"_

 _"Mine feels scared!"_ Hunk said in a panic and RC watched as he pulled out of the dive right away.

" **Pilot, Hunk has pulled away."**

"Of course, he did," I groaned. "Alright, RC: whatever you do, don't pull up!" I then closed my eyes. I had to focus on making a connection with her if I was to be successful.

 _"You still going, Keith?"_

 _"You know it. You?"_

"RC, shut them off!"

I wasn't able to hear Keith and Lance, so that means I could concentrate. I had to. Come on RC, let me in. You can do this too, Marcus.

Focus…

Focus…

Just then, I was able to see, but not want was outside of the Titan. Strangely, I saw what I could only say was RC's inside. Not just in the cockpit, but the gears, wires, and circuits at work within her armor. It was all in a transparent blue, with solid blue outlines. However, I wasn't able to see past the mecha's walls and see what was out in front of RC. I looked around the cockpit and could see more of it. "What is this?"

Suddenly the vision was cut off by the sound of the hatch opening. Tired of the training visors, I took them off and looked at where I was.

We were standing on the ground near the edge of a cliff. When did we get here?

" **Pilot, are you alright?"** I set the helmet aside and a stared outside of RC.

"Yeah, I just…how did we get here?"

" **Protocol 3. When you weren't able to see through me, I turned myself around and landed for us. Pilot…I...felt an anomaly within my data core and neural connecter."**

I nodded. "Yeah, so did I," I said. "So, who made it?"

" **Keith and Lance speeded and crashed into the ground. Pidge pulled up, but she's also crashed. All three are unharmed. Shiro was the only one able to make a link with his Lion."**

"At least we're making some bit of progress. We should try again."

" _No time, Marcus,"_ said Coran. " _We've sit got more training exercises to do!"_

* * *

We were now back in the Castle. After telling Coran what I saw and that I might be feeling a connection with RC, he told me to take her and myself to the shuttle bay and try and make that connection again.

In the bay, I was sitting on the floor with my legs crossed and my eyes closed. In front of me kneeled RC, who stared at me with her single optic. If I could just make a connection with RC from outside of her, we'll might be able to further strengthen the bond we have and be even stronger.

Alright, let's do this.

Focus…

Focus…

Again, the vision from under my eyelids came back. I angled my head up to face towards RC. I could see here insides. The Gears that turned. The wires and circuits that operated. Hell, I was able to see the quintessence flowing through her body, powering her.

But I had to further into RC. I had to feel the connection again. If I could just…

"What are you doing lying around?" Startled, I yelped and quickly stood up. Turning around in a flash, I was surprised to see it was Allura stomping over, with the Altean mice on her shoulders. She didn't look pleased at all. "You're supposed to be training with the others!"

"I was trying to make a connection with RC," I replied. "I think I've almost got it, but I think it's best to take a small rest."

"No one is resting until the Paladins are able to form Voltron!"

Whoa, where did that come from? Since when did Allura turn into a tyrant. "It's just a small rest, Allura," I said sternly. "Can't you just give us a break? Everyone's been working really hard today. I mean, you can't push your men too hard."

"What do you mean, 'can't push too hard'?" she demanded with a look of anger. "Get back with the other, you lazy lump! It's time for the Paladins to face the Gladiator! And I want you to stay out of the fight."

"What!? But I—"

"I don't want to hear it!"

She bitterly walked away.

* * *

Well that was unpleasant. What was with her? One day she was kind and understanding, now she was demanding and aggressive. And now I couldn't do anything to help my friends. All I could do was stand in the corner and watch the five of them.

 _"In order to defeat the Gladiator, five Paladins must fight as one,"_ Coran said.

"Alright guys, just stick to your training and we'll be alright," Shiro said.

"Uh…what training," asked Hunk.

Just then, the "Gladiator"—a robot with white, gold, and black colors with blue lights—dropped from the ceiling wielding a polearm staff. It rushed at Hunk, causing him to panic and start firing his weapon before he was able to turn his body around to aim it at the robot.

The Gladiator dodged by jumping over his shots. However, the Yellow Lion's Pilot didn't take in his surrounds and the shots that missed went straight at Keith. The Red Paladin saw the shots coming at him, and he delayed his shield. The shots hit it, but made him stumble back.

The Gladiator landed next to Hunk and wasted no time swiping him off his feet with its staff and on his back. It then jabbed the end into Hunk's stomach, giving him a painful shock of electricity that puts him out of commission.

Pidge then rushed at the Gladiator and started attacking it. As much of a fight as she tried to put up, the robot smacked her around with its staff. In just a few moves, Pidge was knocked out when it jabbed into her chest, sending her landing on Hunk's stomach.

Lance started shooting at the Gladiator with his laser rifle. Gladiator rushed at him, deflecting all the shots. It then started to swing at him, and Lance tried defending himself with his rifle, as Keith and Shiro went to his aid.

The laser rifle was knocked out of his hands. It hit him on the head, before it noticed Keith at him and turned to swing two times at him, making the Red Paladin defend himself, before hitting Lance on the head again. Jabbing the staff into his stomach, it brought him round and then tossed him into Keith and left them both sprawled on the floor.

Shiro then got ready for battle, his right arm glowing purple. He told me that whatever the Galra gave him from an arm, it was able to be used as a weapon.

The Gladiator rushed at him.

When I looked at him, I saw Shiro looking like he'd seen a ghost and it scared him.

The Gladiator jumped up and was ready to bring its staff down on him.

I didn't think, only reacted with my instincts by pulling out my Wingman and shot the Gladiator in the head. With a hole in its head the size of a golf-ball, the thing fell to the ground with a _clattering thud_.

I ran to Shiro and placed a hand on his right shoulder. This seemed to snap him out of it. "Hey, you okay man?"

"What do you think you're doing?" a familiar voice exclaimed to me. I looked and saw Allura walking towards me and Shiro was a look of displeasure. "I told you to stay out of the fight, and you disobeyed me! This was the Paladins exercise and theirs alone! And the rest of you! That combat simulator was set at a level fit for an Altean child! You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Zarkon!"

* * *

I sighed in frustration, while sitting on the end of the ruined bridge. I didn't eat anything all day, but I didn't feel like eating. I just wanted so time alone. It was no good, and in a way, I can see why Allura didn't what me in the fight with the Gladiator. And I've been seeing it all day. The Paladins were no team. With Lance and Keith at each other's throats, Pidge being more focused on her family, and Hunk being Hunk, this wasn't going so well. It was like Trident all over again!

Out of all of us, Shiro was the only one making progress. He was able to make a connection with the Black Lion.

I'm not even sure if I could even make that kind of connection with RC. She wasn't a Lion. She's a Titan. Two completely different machines from two different systems and ways of life. The Lions were meant to protect. Titans were meant to destroy.

And then again, I was no Paladin either. I'm just a Titan Pilot.

Just then I heard large footstep coming from behind. I didn't need to turn around to know it was RC.

" **Pilot, are you alright?"**

I sighed. "I guess."

RC went to my right and stood next to me. **"You are not alright. Your body is in need of nourishment and you're a dehydrated."**

There was no talking her out of this, was there. "I'm…I'm just wondering if stay here was the best opinion," I finally admitted. "So far I've made no progress and for all I could tell I'm nothing but a liability to the team. I couldn't really contribute nothing to the team." I really didn't know if talking about this to a machine was going to help in any way.

" **I understand."**

I looked at her with a raised brow. "You do?"

" **Correct. I've been trying to make the connect you as well. However, all attempts to make the link have been…unsuccessful. I've tried looking into alternative methods of creating a bond, but all results have turned up nothing."** Her small head looked down. **"I…I feel as though…I'm obsolete compared to the Lions of Voltron."**

For a moment I thought that it was funny that a machine would say that it could feel, but then it hits me.

I wasn't looking at this all wrong. I was looking at RC as nothing more than a machine all this time. That she was still just a Titan that I had to pilot. But she was more than that. She was my partner, and I had to treat her like such. "Do you want to try again," I asked and waited for a response.

It came when RC opened her hatch.

I grinned and jumped into the cockpit and sat down in the chair. "Just close the hatch, RC," I told her and opened the helmet visors. RC did as she was told, and I was enclosed inside of the small space. "Now listen RC. You are my Titan, but I'm also your Pilot. We're partners, and we must do this together as equals. You are more than what you are made to be. Together as one, we will be able to take on Zarkon and his empire."

" **Copy that…Marcus."**

That was the first time RC used my first name. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and focused.

Focus…

Focus…

I didn't have to wait too long for me to see the inside workings of RC again. But I went deeper to see the quintessence running through her body. But then I went deep and soon found myself in the middle of nothing. Nothing but black empty space for miles.

I was also standing strangely. And able to move my legs, so that means I—or my mind, wasn't in the cockpit anymore. I looked around the area until I stopped upon a sight that made me gasp.

Standing a few feet away was a glowing blue transparent woman. She was wearing no closing, leaving her hourglass body exposed. But there were no vagina or nipples. Her skin was blue, but as she approached me, I could see that moving on her were the numbers 1 and 0. Like a computer.

That's when I realized who this was and looked into her shining white eyes. "RC?"

" **Correct, Marcus Moore,"** said RC, but her voice was no longer a machine-like one. It sounded much normally and echoed in the black nothingness. **"I am RC-2049. And I am ready to establish our true connection."** She then held up her right reached out with it a little. Her palm facing me.

I nodded and placed my hand to her. Interlocking our fingers.

Then everything went white.

My eyes opened when I gasped, as I felt my body jolt in the seat. I felt normal, but at the same time bigger. However, I didn't feel like I was sitting inside of RC, I felt like I was standing. I felt as though her systems were my brain and nerves. Her chassis was my body, and it was like I could feel the wind on her metal armor.

Looking down at my hands, it was like I wasn't looking at the display screen anymore but through her own optic.

I did it—No. _We_ did it! We made the bond. The smile on my face couldn't have gotten any bigger than it already was. "RC, do you feel it?" I asked in a raised tone.

" **Yes, Pilot. We have become one."**

"I knew you could do!" said the familiar voice of Allura from behind us. Since I'm in control of RC, her movements were now mind. I turned around and looked down to see the alien princess standing there in her formal wear.

"Pretty cool, right," I asked. "All I had to do was bond with RC not like a Titan and a Pilot, but as partners."

"And now the two of you are one," she said with a bright smile.

"Well, aren't you being pleasant," I mocked, crossing RC's arms.

"I was giving you all a common enemy."

 _"It's true,"_ said Coran on the transmitter. _"Like the old proverb says, 'A man can be driven to do anything, if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him.'"_

"I cannot argue with that," I said, which made Allura look at me with an unamused look. "So, how are the guys?"

"See for yourself," she responded and walked over to stand next to our (RC and me) right. I turned around and was surprised to see the Lions flying together.

And then they started to form Voltron. All of the Lion's legs were folded and sealed away, and it was like their body became more compressed and concealed. The Black Lion's head bent down as it angled its body upright. The Red and Green Lions attached themselves to the sides of the Black Lion, turning into its arms. The Blue and Yellow Lions then came and attached themselves to the main body legs. The Black Lions mouth then opened widely, revealing Voltrons face.

They did it, they actually did it. I'm not sure what Allura did or what made them do it, but actually started working together to form Voltron.

Today may have been rough, but it was a good day. We're really coming together.

* * *

 **Finally done with the second chapter of "Become ONE".**

 **This was a difficult chapter for me because I was constantly running into writer's block countless times in this chapter. While also trying to keep up interest in it. Maybe it's because I'm doing this story in a first-person perspective and when I'm so used to doing it in third-person. It kind of limits what you can do and write about. I think I'll just continue this story in third-person, just to make things easier.**

 **Another thing that made it harder was that sense Marcus wasn't a Paladin, it meant I had to think of different ways to include him. So that he didn't become irrelevant in the story.**

 **Now some of you have been asking me about if Marcus would be getting magic abilities and to be honest, I have completely watched the whole show and I didn't really know that quintessence gave people powers. Whether or not Marcus will have powers is up for debate and I'll have to really think about it.**

 **That's it for today! Make sure to leave a review on the chapter (I'd really appreciate it, as it would let me know your thoughts and opinions), Favorite and Follow if you like, and PM me if you got any questions. Thank you for reading and have a good day.**


	3. Demons of the Past

**Moore's Logbook:**

 _RC and I were more connected than ever before. After Allura put me and the team through intensive training, my friends, the Paladins, were finally able to form Voltron freely without trouble._

 _All was going easy. We trained for hours each day, hardening our bodies, sharpening our minds, and making ourselves a stronger team. I and RC were ready for anything the Galra had to throw at us._

 _But lately, I couldn't help but wonder what Zarkon was going to do. He probably knows we have all the Lions. So why not attack us now?_

* * *

" **Demons of the Past"**

The Galra Empire is known throughout the universe as a powerful political and military force. Able and willing to destroy worlds, and have conquered much of the known universe.

At the heart of it all is the King Zarkon's Central Command System. This system contains both artificial and naturally occurring structures. It serves as Zarkon's headquarters, a shipping destination for refined Quintessence, and is home to the majority of the Empire's fleets. The system consists of three planets, four stellar megastructures in the form of rings, and a superstation.

The superstation was a massive warship that is in the shape of the Galra Empire's symbol. It's this station that Zarkon commands all of his forces.

As for the tyrant himself, Zarkon was in a special chamber inside of the station. He was kneeling in the middle as he absorbed a blast of powerful Quintessence that was shot at him from a large black energy ball above him. Galra Druids were in the room with him, assisting him to make sure that the raw power didn't go out of control and destroy him.

The Galra King was a tall Galran male with gray skin and glowing violet eyes that had no visible pupils or irises, with a face that was angular and square, with prominent cheekbones and a withered appearance. He had pointed ears with elongated lower lobes, a flat nose, and a scar extending from under his left eye down across his mouth, which has noticeably jagged lips reminiscent of fangs.

The emperor wore a maroon armor accented with dark gray over a black space suit. On his cuirass, the armor had four glowing violet lines curving downward towards the center, and upward towards his shoulders. Along with his armor, Zarkon also wore a black cape clasped at his shoulders that was long enough to reach his calves, with blue lining the inside.

As for the Druids, they were slender beings that wore flowing robes and hid their faces behind masks.

As the process came to a close, with the ground below him glowing strange runes and markings, another individual was in the chamber, watching Zarkon. This person had the appearance of a slender, small humanoid woman with dark blue skin, yellow eyes, and long white hair—although she largely conceals herself under a purple and yellow cloak and carried herself in a hunched posture. Underneath her hood, no irises or pupils were visible in her eyes, and she had long red markings that extended from her prominent cheekbones down across her lips, nearly reaching her chin, on either side of her face. Her face was angular, and she had a noticeably convex nose.

She is known as Haggar, the mysterious witch of Galra Empire who served directly under Zarkon as the high priestess of the Druids.

"Sire," she said, "the beast is almost to Arus."

"This Quintessence gives me so much power, I could fight the Paladins myself," Zarkon said, standing up to his imposing height. The power coursing through hands and arms.

"There is no need. My creature will destroy them and capture the Voltron Lions for you. Then, the most powerful weapon in the universe will be ours."

* * *

In the vastness of space and going at great speeds was a large object. This starship like craft was heading towards the Planet Arus, containing the very thing that Haggar believes will capture the Lions of Voltron.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the previously mentioned planet, it was a lovely day at the Castle of Lions.

As for the Paladins of Voltron and Titan Pilot Marcus, all of them except Pidge entered the dining hall of the castle after training vigorously. "Great job training today, guys," said Shiro, the leader of the group. "We're really getting the hang of Voltron."

"Tell, me about it," said Marcus and took off his helmet. While the Pilot helmet was comfortable to wear, it wasn't something that Marcus was going to wear when he didn't have to. One noticeable change to him was that he cut his hair in a buzzcut, has it would allow the helmet to fit snugger. "We're stronger every day."

"Seriously, how far do you think my Lion kicked that broken alien ship?" boasted Lance, as he stopped, and Keith stopped necked to him. Shiro, Marcus, and Hunk continued over to the table. "Must have been like a mile!"

RC: _**"Cadent Lance, I fail to see how kicking the remains of the enemy's ship would benefit the team."**_

Marcus set the helmet down and Hunk sat down. "It could when the Galra challenges Voltron to a soccer match," Keith said sacristy at Lance.

"And in case you're wondering, RC…" Marcus pointed at Keith with a smirk. "… _That_ was sarcasm."

"Hey, I did something cool and you can't handle it. I get it," Lance told the Red Paladin arrogantly.

"Your kick ruined your balance and you guys fell," Marcus retorted and pulled out a chair, before sitting down. Being the only one that wasn't a Paladin, he and RC were mostly outsiders, but wanted to help out in any way they could.

Lance and Keith walked over to the table. "Well, that falling part was Hunk's fault."

"Hey!" Hunk said, not liking that he was being blamed for Lance's comeuppance.

"All right, save your energy for fighting Zarkon," Shiro cut in to stop anymore arguments. He then sat down at the head of the table, while Marcus sat across from Hunk. When the present Paladins gathered at the table, Coran entered with a covered plate.

"Hello, guys!" He greeted them. "How was the Voltron and Titan workout?"

"We're getting there," Shiro said. "It's still a work in process for us."

"Are you and Allura almost done fixing the Castle so we can leave this planet," Marcus asked. "The longer we're here on Arus, the more we're sitting ducks for the Galra."

"Just about," Coran said, setting down the plate on the table. "In the meantime, to get your minds off those duck seats you're worried about, I made you guys an authentic ancient Paladin lunch!" He took the cover off, and any thoughts of it being a good was swept away when it was revealed to be a yellow, slimy substance spewing out of a green core with a horrendous odor.

The sight of the abomination he cooked up caused disgust for all the humans in the room. Marcus was just about to upchuck his breakfast, by quickly clamped his mouth shut with his hands. After a hard swallow, he voiced his opinion; "Oh, god, that's foul!"

"Agree," Hunk said and turned his head to the Altean. "Coran, you just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?"

"This is packed with nutrients," Coran insisted.

Hunk cautiously leaned towards the strange food and gave it a sniff. "Oh, it smells disgusting!" Coran then smelt it as well.

"I know! That's how you know it's healthy!"

They backed away from the food, and Hunk addressed the alien. "Coran, we're on a planet now with fresh herbs, spices, and..." He held up a strange plant and looked at it funnily. "whatever this thing is. A tuber? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the kitchen and spice things up." The engineer passed Coran and headed for the door leading to the kitchen. Lance and Keith sat at the other end of the table to wait.

After his teammate exited the dining room, Shiro looked around and noticed that there was one person absent. "Where's Pidge," he asked.

When Coran replied, he was eating the strange food. "—He's probably checking on those...prisoners we rescued from Zarkon," he said with a full mouth. "They'll all be waking soon in the infirmary."

Marcus had a very good idea on why. Pidge, aka Katie was going to question them where her brother and father were. That has caused some anxiousness for him, mostly because her priorities were more on rescuing her family than preparing herself to take on the Galra.

Wanting to make sure she was okay, Marcus stood up to leave, but Coran was suddenly up in front of him with a spoon of the disgusting food in his face. "Open the hatch. Food Lion coming in!" He said before making airplane sounds.

At first, Marcus cringed at the food, before glaring at Coran. "Don't ever do with me again," he threaded, before grabbing his helmet and started leaving the room.

"You don't know what you're missing!"

As the door closed, Marcus made his way to the Sleeping Chamber. That's where he'll find Pidge along with the prisoners. But as he walked away from the dining room, he heard the door open and he turned around. Marcus was surprised to see it was Shiro running to catch up with him.

"Room for one more," he asked, stopping next to Marcus.

"I don't mind," Marcus said with a greeting smile. The two Titan Pilots then started making their way down to the Sleeping Clamber.

* * *

When they enter the chamber, they saw the aliens that were imprisoned by Sendak sleeping inside of the pods. Marcus was still amazed by the Alteans advancements in technology, which was why Allura and Coran were able to stay in stasis for thousands of years. Whatever strange force was powering the machines was also allowing them to heal.

His ears then picked up the sound of tapping and Marcus looked over to see Pidge sitting before the pods. By the looks of it, Pidge was getting impatient while waiting, prompting the tapping of her leg on the floor. But he could see that she was also anxious. "The least you could do is eat something," he said.

At first, Pidge was started, but calmed down when she saw it was just Marcus and Shiro. "I'm not hungry," she groaned.

"I know what you're going through, Pidge," Shiro admitted. "Trust me, I'm just as anxious as you are."

Pidge looked over her right shoulder at the aliens. "These aliens we saved know something about my family. They have to!"

"I hope so, but we can't lose focus on the mission," Marcus insisted with a stern tone, but one that showed sympathy. "We need to be ready for war, and that means that we need to know if you're prepared, too, and not too distracted."

This instantly got Pidge angry and she stood up. "Are you saying that my family is a distraction?!" She accused.

"You know fully well that's not what I'm saying," Marcus said. "But I am saying is that you have to be able to fight alongside us for the future." His face grimaced. "And if you're prepared to hear the worst of news." He knew that Pidge was holding out hope that her father and brother were still alive. However, the reality is that the answer that they could get for the prisoners may not be what they were hoping for.

Pidge glared at him for a moment, before sighing to calm down. She then turned to Shiro. "They recognized you, didn't they? They called you 'Champion.' What does that even mean?"

Shiro thought long and hard. It was on the mission to retrieve the Red Lion that they found the prisoners and he learned that his prosthetic arm was able to generate a powerful purple energy and allowed him to use it as a weapon. "I don't know. I can't remember very much from that time. But the way those guys looked at me when we freed them... I don't know if I want to find out."

Suddenly Marcus' attention was caught by the sound of hissing. He looked and saw one of the pods opening. The alien contained in had four arms, bluish gray skin, and a strange antenna on its head. By its appearance, Marcus would have to say it's likely an elder.

When the pod opened completely, the alien let out a breath of hot air and opened its eyes.

"I'll leave the two of you to this," Marcus told Shiro and Pidge, feeling as though this was theirs to figure out. So, he turned and left the room.

* * *

Outside in front of the Castle, all was quiet and peaceful. However, there was one disturbance. Moving towards the Castle was a small alien lifeform with a shell on its head resembling a nautilus seashell that was in the shape of spiraling horns. It wore clothing made from the plant life on the planet, and it carried a weapon made from bones.

The creature hid behind a rock, before yelling and running over to another, getting closer to the Castle of Lions. It then did the same thing again, yelling and running to another rock.

It pecked its head out from behind the rock, looking at the Castle. However, the ground shook violently when a large object landed right behind the creature.

Startled and scared, the little being trembled as it turned around to see the thing that landed behind it.

That thing turned out to be RC, with her Chaingun aimed right at the creature.

* * *

Marcus mummed a song to himself as he made his way back to the dining hall. He didn't know what the name of the song was, but he and the others knew all the words to the song.

"You seem to be in a happy mood," said the unmistakable voice of Princess Allura. Marcus looked to his left and saw Allura approach him for an intersecting hallway. The alien princess was wearing her elegant dress, which the Pilot though she looked stunning in it.

"It's for a good reason," he said with a smile, turning his body to face her. "Me and RC are bonding more and are training of combat as much as we can, and the others are doing great with Voltron."

"That's wonderful," Allura said with a determined smile. "I just got the final nebulon booster working. We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Zarkon."

Just then the alarms blared, ruining the mood and putting them both on edge.

RC: _**"All personal be advised: I've captured an intruder outside of the Castle."**_

After RC's announcement on the intercoms, Marcus quickly puts on his helmet and turned it on, while Allura brought up a screen showing.

While the Pilot viewed RC's vision from his visor and the princess did it with her screen, they were both surprised to see that the Titan was holding up the small creature she found upside down by its legs. It struggled to escape by moving its body all around.

"What is that," Marcus asked.

"I don't know what it is. Maybe it's a local Arusian. RC, what was he doing," Allura asked. RC appeared on Marcus' HUD.

RC: _**"The unknown lifeform was approaching the Castle with what appeared to be a weapon. Intentions are unknown."**_

Hunk: _"Aw! It's cute."_

Lance: _"Doesn't look too dangerous."_

Keith: _"You never know."_

Marcus nodded to that and brought out his R-201. Allura saw the rifle and placed a hand on it, keeping it pointed down. "No. Alteans believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them," she insisted and walked away towards the entrance of the Castle.

Hunk: _"That's adorable."_

Lance: _"Hey, maybe we can knit him a little sweater!"_

Keith: _"I'm not taking any chances."_

Marcus agreed with Keith and was about to go with them when Shiro called him.

Shiro: _"Marcus, could you come back? We could use your help with the prisoners. Also, bring some tea for them too."_

Marcus thought for a moment. He wanted to go with Allura and check out the situation, but figured that helping Shiro and Pidge could help the team more and they'll learn where the Commander and her brother are. "I'll be right there. RC, I'm placing you in charge of protecting the princess."

RC: _**"Copy that, Pilot."**_

* * *

After the call ended, RC waited for only a moment before the doors of the Castle open. She saw Allura, Coran, Hunk, Lance, and Keith exiting and coming over towards her and her captive. The alien she was holding screamed and struggled to pull one of its legs free from the Titan's iron grasp.

"RC, you can release him now," Allura commanded, as she and the group stopped a few feet from them.

" **As you command, princess,"** RC said and lowered herself down. She gently laid the alien on the ground and let go, before standing up at her full height.

At first, the alien was confused, before he stood up and dusted himself off. Allura took the moment to greet him and leaned down with her hands on her knees. "Greetings. Don't worry. No harm will come to you," she said.

The Arusian however, quickly grabbed his weapon lying next to him. He flipped in the air, before he landed and got into a fighting stance.

"Aw!" Hunk just found it cute.

However, Keith saw him as a threat and got between the little Arusian and Allura, his Bayard ready in his right hand. ""Wait! He could be dangerous," he said. "Drop your weapon!"

"No one takes Klaizap's weapon!" said the alien, now known as Klaizap. However, RC was having none of it and brought out her Chaingun again, and also popped out her shoulder rocket pods. All pointed at the now frightened creature.

"Stand down, both of you!" Allura ordered the two harshly. RC's shoulder pod was put away and she lowered the gun. Keith also relents, but wasn't letting his guard down. "Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies," she said to Klaizap in a soothing voice.

With the conflict avoided, Klaizap also lowered his weapon. "I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors," he explained in a brave tone. "Our village is over Gazrel Hill. I come seeking answers as to why the Lion Goddess is angered with her followers."

This confused the group. "Followers," Coran asked.

"Lion Goddess," Hunk asked.

"The one the ancients spoke of," Klaizap said as he gestured to a stone carving of a Lion-headed deity being worshiped by Arusians.

"What makes you think she's angered," Allura asked the small alien.

"Destruction is everywhere. In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens and a giant and warrior has danced in the sky."

RC turned to Allura. **"Princess, it is possible that the chaos Klaizap speaks of is from our past battle with Sendak."**

"And I think he's talking about Voltron and RC," Hunk whispered to Lance.

"Yeah, I got that," Lance said.

"You have not angered the Lion Goddess." Allura assured Klaizap.

Klaizap then asked, "How can you be certain?"

"Because I am Allura and this is my Castle." The princess introduced herself, gesturing to the Castle of Lions.

Klaizap looked at the Castle, before turning back to Allura and gasped. "Lion Goddess!" He bowed in respect.

"Please, bravest warrior, take us to your village so that we may meet our neighbors."

 **"Princess, what about upholding our mission to leave the planet and fight Zarkon?"**

"Part of the Paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy," Allura told RC. "Arus has been our host for 10,000 years. These people deserve our thanks."

* * *

Marcus was back in the Sleeping Chamber, after bringing tea for the alien prisoners. Pidge and Shiro tended to the awakened prisoners, and he helped by handing them tea. He was now approaching another alien, the one that was the first to awake, named Xi. "I not sure what your people drink," he said, crouching down in front of Xi, as he sat down with a blanket over him. "But I hope you enjoy this."

Xi took the tea, and after glancing between the Pilot and the cup, drank it. "Thank you," he said gratefully.

"So, you don't mind if we ask you a few things?" Marcus stood up and crossed his arms. "Like, how long you were held captive by Zarkon?"

Xi took another sip before he answered. "Some for years. Decades, maybe. It's hard to tell. Time becomes a blur."

"Then you must have been there when my dad and brother arrived," Pidge deduced. "Sam and Matt Holt?"

"I never knew their names, but I certainly remember the other two Earthlings that arrived with Champion." When he said that, Xi looked towards Shiro, who turned his head towards them.

"'Champion.' Why do you keep calling me that," the Black Paladin asked.

"You really don't remember," Xi asked, startled that Shiro had no recollections of his past. "Unbelievable! You were a legendary gladiator, undefeated in the ring. You defeated an infamous Galra gladiator known as Myzax. That was the day you earned the name 'Champion.' I was there, as was the young Earthling."

Marcus asked Xi, "Can you tell us what had happened?"

Xi nodded and looked down at his tea as he retold what he saw: "We were all prisoners, forced to fight for the entertainment of Zarkon. That day, we were set to fight Myzax, a vile beast many thought could never be defeated. Slaughter awaited us all. This 'Matt' was the first of us sent to fight. But fate had other plans." Xi looked at Shiro. "You were so thirsty for blood, you injured your fellow Earthling."

This surprised and shocked Marcus and Pidge greatly. But after a moment of being mortified by the tale, Pidge turned toward Shiro was an enraged glare. "You attacked my brother? Why?!" She demanded harshly.

But Shiro was just as much in disbelief. "No... it can't be true."

"Let's not jump to anything here," Marcus said, getting between Shiro and Pidge. "We don't know if that was the doing of Zarkon. The Galra could have tortured him extensively that he lost himself for all we know." He then looked at Xi. "After Matt was injured, where was he taken?"

"I know not." That answer didn't sit well with Marcus.

"I don't believe it," Shiro said in denial. "There's got to be more to the story. I-I couldn't have hurt my friend." His eyes then widened. "Wait. That ship we were held captive on crash-landed on this planet." He then started to make his way to the exit. "They'll have logs of prisoners, some... information."

"You're going to need backup," Marcus said, bringing out his assault rifle.

As he followed after Shiro, Pidge ran to catch up. "I'm coming with you guys."

* * *

Meanwhile, away from the Castle, the Red Lion, Yellow Lion, Blue Lion, and RC had landed close to a small village at was the Arusian village.

As RC carefully stepped between the houses and to not crush any of the natives, she scanned the village. The Arusian culture appeared to be a primitive one with little advanced technology. The village consisted of small houses made of stone with round roofs; most of these buildings encircled a large open dirt plaza serving as the village market. Most of the Arusian lifestyle seemed to be based in gathering food, farming, and religious worshiping.

She heard the sound of cheerful voice and looked towards the plaza. There Allura, Coran, Klaizap, and the three respective Paladins were happily greeted by the adorable locals, although Keith appeared out of place and disinterested.

The Titan could feel in her Core that she related to the Red Paladin. She was a walking war machine capable of destroying armies of infantry and other Titans. Her being there felt out of place for RC.

Her movement sensors picked up something in front of her and RC looked down. It was a small Arusian who looked to be a child. Like Klaizap, all of the Arusians were small bipedal aliens with two or more curved brown horns.

The child stared up at RC. At first, the Titan didn't know what to think. Her single optic turned as she focused on the alien. Recalling the hand gesture that her Pilot gave her on their mission to retrieve the Red Lion, she raised her hand and gave the child a thumbs up.

The Arusian looked at her for a moment, before looking at her hand. She then looked at RC again and grinned happily and gave her a thumb up too. The child then ran off. If RC could smile, she would.

Allura saw this and smiled, happy that the Titan was enjoying her time. Her attention was then caught when one of the Arusian walked up to her. "Oh, Lion Goddess, I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness. Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings."

The group looked puzzled at one another. The King then clapped his hands, and an Arusian female stepped forward. She then got into a stance.

"Commence Dance of Apology! Hoorah!" King announced, before bowing and the Arusians cheered. A row of the aliens started playing the drums, as the dancer started her dance.

While it was amusing for some of the group, Allura found it unnecessary. "Please, there's no need for this," she said.

"Moontow, halt!" The King said, causing the dancer to stop on one foot. "The Goddess has refused the apology. Start the sacrificial fire. We must throw ourselves in." The Arusians all turned to an enormous stone pyre, and one of them threw a torch into it. The logs all ignite into a blazing fire.

"No!" Allura yelled quickly, horrified that they would actually do that to themselves. "No sacrifices!"

"So, we may proceed with the dance," asked the King, as some Arusians were stopped right before they were ready to burn themselves.

" **That would be a better alternate."**

Moontow then started to dance again. After completing the dance, she bowed to Allura, along with the other Arusians. "Oh, my!" Allura gasped, realizing that she was going to have to be careful with her explanation. "Please, please, rise. Thank you for that, but I am not a great being worthy of your worship. I accidentally put you all in danger. It is I who should be apologizing to you. I am Princess Allura and these are the Voltron Paladins, along with the Vanguard Titan, RC-2049. Although we originally came from different worlds... and have very, very, very different traditions, we wish to live alongside you as friends."

This confused the Arusian King. "But the mighty robotic angel... has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?"

"And the big Titan was there with it," Klaizap said, pointing at RC.

"Voltron and RC?" Allura raised an eyebrow. "No. In fact, that mighty robot and the Titan are here to protect you. Let it be known that Voltron and RC will protect every innocent being throughout the universe!"

The Arusians cheered and celebrate by gathering around the team and started hugging them. RC looked down to see many Arusians hugging her legs all at once. **"I…feel happy?"**

* * *

Shiro and Pidge used their Lions to get to the wreckage of Sendak's warship, with Marcus along for the ride. There was only half of the original ship lift now, and it was sitting in a lake out in a rocky desert.

Before today, Marcus had upgraded his Jump-Kit with some of the Altean technology to make it more powerful and reliable. Using his Jump-Kit and their Jet-Packs, the three flew to a close opening and landing on its edge. Using his helmet's HUD, Marcus scanned the wreckage. There was nothing. All computers and electronics were destroyed in the battle.

But then, his scanner picked up something, and it wasn't far away. Only a quick jump away. "I think I found something," he told the others, before jumping off towards it. Marcus wasn't going to make it in just that jump, so he Double-Jumped, and he landed safely on a stabilized platform that had the computer he was picking up.

Shiro and Pidge landed behind him, and they all went over to the computer. "This looks like the master control board, but there's no power," Pidge said.

"All you need is power," asked Marcus.

"Yeah, but one that's compatible with Galra tech. Nothing we have on the Frontier is."

Shiro then looked down his right hand and studied it. He then clenched it, activating the power within it. He then placed his glowing hand on the computer console and that was actually able to power the machine up. Soon, red screens and holographic panels appeared, and then files and systems showed up on them.

"Whoa... I can't believe you got this to work," Pidge said, before tapping her left wrist and pulling up a blue screen. She then got to work. "My dad's and Matt's whereabouts must be logged in here somewhere. Once I download this information, I'll find some way to decode it back at the Castle."

* * *

Back in the Arusian village, Allura was playing with the locals while RC was kneeling by and Keith watched under a tree. Some of the Arusians played around the Titan, but then RC's sensors were suddenly going off. Alerted, she quickly stood up, frightening off the villagers near her and startling Allura. "What's wrong, RC," she asked.

RC looked to the sky at stared at it. Her optic looked around for anything. However, she spotted something.

At first it appeared to be nothing but an asteroid entering the planet's atmosphere, but when RC's optic zoomed in and focused on the object, she saw what it was. A massive Galra spacecraft, unlike any they've seen before.

And basing on its trajectory, it was heading straight for her Pilot.

She quickly turned on her comms to contact her Pilot, Shiro, and Pidge, and then turned to Allura. **"All personal be advised; a large Galra ship has just entered the atmosphere."** This shocked Allura and Keith, while also frightening the Arusians. **"Pilot, by its trajectory, its coming right for you and your team. I'm on my way to your position."**

She then deployed her jetpack and launched into the air.

* * *

As the ship rumbled, Marcus and Shiro were looking up through and opening in the wreckage and spotted the Galra ship. It was burning menacingly like a meteor as it headed right for them. "RC wasn't kidding," Marcus said with wide eyes. "We gotta get outta here!"

"Right." Shiro attempted to take his hand off the counsel, but Pidge prevented him by forcing it back on.

"Shiro, don't. Move. I'm only 15 percent done. I'm not going anywhere." She told him.

"That download has barely started," Marcus retorted.

RC: _**"Impact in 1 minute."**_

Shiro looked back up at the ship. It was getting even closer than before. He then looked at the download and saw it wasn't going to be complete in time. He allowed a few moments for Pidge to proceed, however, he cannot ignore the incoming threat anymore. "Pidge, I'm sorry!"

He grabbed her. "No!" Pidge protested, but Shiro and Marcus rocketed off the ground.

"RC, we're on our way out!" Marcus called his Titan, before switching over to Keith. "Keith, lock onto our coordinates and get the others over here!"

Keith: _"Roger that!"_

* * *

The Arusian were all in panic and started running to hide.

"Everyone get inside and stay down!" Allura instructed them, herding them to safety.

"I'm on it!" Hunk said as he ran passed her, trying to flee with the Arusians. At first, Allura was confused, but then she saw Keith grabbing the massive Yellow Paladin and then dragging him back towards their Lions.

"Not you!" He exclaimed, as Hunk cried comical tears.

* * *

Pidge grunted as she continued to protest leaving the download unfinished, unable to accept possibly of losing clues to the whereabouts of her family. She continued to thrash against Shiro's hold, until the three of them landed.

She tried to run back into the warship again, but Marcus got in front of her and stopped her. "No! Marcus, get out of my way! My father!"

At this point, Marcus had enough, and he grabbed Pidge and turned her around. "Katie! Look, goddammit!" He yelled, getting her to face the income warship.

When Pidge looked, she immediately realized the situation and danger.

"Run!" Shiro yelled and the two Paladins used their jetpacks to get escape. Marcus kicked the Jump-Kit into overdrive and he flew away with them.

The ship speeded towards the down warship and then crashed into it. It caused a massive explosion.

Marcus was behind the other and he knew he wasn't going to survive the blast, but then RC suddenly came out of nowhere and grabbed him. She then landed and activated her Dome-Shield. The shield was able to protect them from the blast, the Titan opened her hatch and placed Marcus inside.

When the Pilot saw that he was inside, he panted as the Titan transformed all controls to him. "You…were just in time, RC," he said with a grateful smile.

" **You're welcome."**

The dust cloud settled, and Marcus turned to see where Shiro and Pidge should be. He was surprised to find the Black and Green Lions there, with their bodies low to the ground. "Guys? You okay?"

The Lions then stood up, and Marcus saw Shiro and Pidge low to the ground. When Shiro and Pidge stood up, they looked at their Lions in amazement. "Our Lions saved us," said Shiro.

"I didn't know they could do that," Pidge said.

"Fight not over guys," Marcus told them and turned RC around to face the Galra ship. It didn't look like it took damage at all, so that meant it was supposed to drop to the planet. From the side they were looking at it, the ship looked like it had the face of a Lion.

Suddenly, the transport ship moved, making Marcus pull out the Chaingun. Then all four sides of the ship fell over, and the three humans were surprised to see inside was a large robot with purple and gray armor. Its right hand was a cannon, with tubs connecting from its shoulders to a large backpack.

The robot turned on then its eyes lit up. Its right eye was yellow, while the left was purple and more beast like. It picked up its head and looked around. Tensions ran high as the left eye looked down at RC, then looked at Shiro and Pidge. It locked onto Shiro.

"Get in your Lion!" Shiro ordered Pidge, and the two ran off to enter their Lions.

But as they did, the robot raised its cannon arm up. The weapon then started to rotate and spin, as the sound of charging power came from it. Then an energy ball formed at it.

"Uh, guys, you ready," Marcus asked anxiously, getting ready to dodge with RC's jetpack.

Shiro: _"We're in!"_

Just in time, because the robot then attacked by launching the orb right at them. RC and the Lions quickly flew out of the way, dodging the attack before it smashed into the ground. But just when they thought it was over, the energy ball raised up from its crater.

Marcus looked back at the robot, and saw it was pointing its arm right at it. It then swung its arm at his direction. The Pilot looked and reacted just fast enough before the energy ball came right at him.

The robot then sent the orb at Pidge, but she moved out of the way and it slammed into a mountain side. Again, the purple ball retracted, and the behemoth sent it back at her.

Pidge attempted to stop the orb and fired the Green Lion's mouth cannon at it. The blue shot hits the ball. However, it didn't do anything to the orb.

It hits the Green Lion, knocking it off its blanch and sending it down to the planet's surface. Pidge crashed on the ground, causing her to bounce a few times before Lion came to a sliding halt. In the cockpit, she grunted in pain, but then heard footstep coming towards her.

It was the giant robot, and it was charging right at the fallen Lion. However, Shiro stopped it by jumping on its back and having the Black Lion bite into its shoulder. But it was a failed attempt, for the robot was able to grab the Lion and throw him off.

It charged another orb, but then missiles were launched at it. They exploded on impact with its arm, causing the limb to be knocked any.

"Shiro, I'll hold it off while you and Pidge get out of them!" Marcus exclaimed, flying around the giant before firing the Chaingun. He thought that it wouldn't do much of anything to the massive robot. But the designers at Brockhaurd Manufacturing have done their job well. The 20mm armor-piercing rounds punched holes into the arm of the giant. It wasn't doing much of any critical damage to the machine, but it made it try and protect itself with its left arm.

Marcus stopped firing for a moment, and flew straight towards it. RC then brought her legs up and when the Pilot went straight at its head, he kicked both feet into the face of the robot. The power of the Titan sent the giant barely flying backwards, but knocked it off its feet.

Just then, the rest of the Lions arrived, hovering over the ground as the Black and Green Lions stood up.

Keith: _"We're here! You guys okay down there?"_

Shiro: _"Still alive for now."_

Marcus retreated from the robot as it stood back up. He joined the Lions, with Shiro and Pidge regrouping with them.

Hunk: _"Are the Galra behind this?"_

Shiro: _"I think so, but I've never seen anything like it."_

Lance: _"So, what's the plan? Shoot at it with everything we've got? Take out its weapon? Call it names?"_

"This is serious, Lance," Marcus snapped. "Shiro, you know what to do."

Shiro: _"You're right, Marcus. If we want to take this monster down, there's only one way to do it. Form Voltron!"_

The Lions roared and started to goal their representing colors, before flying upwards. They steadily got close to each other, before coming together. This caused a bright flash of light, and in an instant, Voltron was formed.

"At least it's quick and not dragged out every time they do that," Marcus joked, as Voltron fell and landed on the ground. He moved over to be hovering next to the robot's left shoulder.

Shiro: _"Remember, we are one unit, fighting with one goal."_

The giant charged another purple orb.

Voltron charged, and Marcus followed after them. The giant threw the orb at them, but Voltron and RC barrel-rolled out of the way. Keith yelled a battle cry as the Red Lion was sent to deliver a punch.

However, the giant caught it. Causing a shockwave that kicked up a dusk cloud that the three fighters were in the middle of.

Pidge then yelled, and the Green Lion was punched into the jaw of the giant. The robot stumbled back until its back hits the side of a mountain.

All the Paladins yelled as Voltron leapt up with its hands over its head, before coming down onto the giant and slamming its arm down on it. However, the giant blocked the attack with its left arm. It made a motion with its right arm, and Marcus knew what that meant. "Guys, look!"

Voltron looked back, but they weren't able to react fast enough, and the orb strikes them in the back, slamming the Paladins down to the ground.

The giant raised its arm and was about to bring it down again, until RC slammed into the side of its head. Making it stumble to the right.

"Guys get out of there," Marcus exclaimed to the team, stabbing the Hidden Blade into the head.

" **Pilot, break away!"** Marcus pulled RC away from the giant before its colossal hand could grab her.

Voltron was already backing away from the giant, before the giant called back its orb and sent it at them. The team dodged the attack.

Keith: _"I thought Voltron was the most powerful weapon in the universe!"_

Hunk: _"Yeah, so how is this monster kicking our asses?"_

They watched as the orb went off into the distance, before looking back.

It turned out to be a distraction, and the giant suddenly body slammed into Voltron. Marcus watched as the mighty defender was sent flying back before landing with a clash. He flew RC over to it, and stop upon Voltron.

RC looked further down the area and saw that the fighting was now getting dangerously near the Arusian village. **"Pilot, our battle is getting close to the village. Soon, they'll be caught in the crossfire."**

"Allura," Marcus said, realizing that the princess was still in the village. "We have to protect those people!"

The giant sent the orb at RC.

"Vortex Shield!" Marcus activated the defensive ability, and RC stretched out both her hands and the created one large Vortex Shield. When then orb hits the shield, it instantly started pushing them back, so Marcus turned RC's jetpack up to full power. The rocket thrusters blazed to life as the Titan tried to push back against the ball of energy.

He grunted and gritted his teeth as he tried to keep the orb from overpowering him. The Titan was such a smaller robot than the giant, and it would have easily destroyed RC if it wasn't for the quintessence powering her.

Marcus bellowed a roar, and pushed the orb at an upwards angle, allowing it to fly right over the village. However, redirection the attack sent the war machine flying backwards to the ground. Marcus quickly fired up the jetpack again, and turned her upright.

RC skirted over the village before stopping. Marcus then launched her into the air.

"That was too close," Marcus said, panting in exhaustion.

Shiro: _"We're going to lure away this guy Marcus. Come on."_

"Got it!" Marcus followed Voltron, and together they flew right past the giant. The robot turned towards them, and followed after them. Marcus then contacted Allura. "Allura, you all okay down?"

Allura: _"Marcus? Oh, thank goodness you're alright! What's happening?"_

Pidge: _"We got him away from the Arusians, but we can't take him down!"_

Lance: _"I got it! I'm going to power-kick that orb thing!"_

Keith: _"No! The last time you did a kick, we fell!"_

But Voltron stopped and turned towards the giant, and then charged at it. RC stopped and watched.

Lance: _"Stop living in the past!"_

"Incoming!" Marcus exclaimed when the giant launched another orb at them. Lance then commanded the mighty defender and performed a flying kick at the energy orb, yelling along the way.

But he missed the kick.

Lance: _"Oh, no!"_

The orb hit Voltron in its chin and knocked it out of the air.

"Lance, you idiot!" Marcus yelled as Voltron crashed into the ground and the giant crashed.

Shiro: _"Pidge, fire lasers now!"_

Pidge: _"Got it! Fire!"_

Voltron held out its left arm and the Green Lion's mouth opened and began changing something. However, the wings on Voltron's back suddenly came off and floated to the front of the Green Lion. The wings then formed a large shield.

" **That's new."**

Pidge: _"Oops! Ah! Uh..!"_

"I got you," Marcus told the team and started firing the Chaingun at the giant. The giant takes some small amount of damage, but then it suddenly commanded the orb again.

The orb came back and hits RC, knocking Marcus off balance and the two were sent crashing to the ground.

" **Pilot, damage has been sustained. Shields are down."** The shields were then recharged. **"Are you alright."**

"I'm fine." Marcus controlled the Titan to stand again. Voltron moved back near the Pilot and Titan.

Hunk: _"Every time we focus on that orb, we're blindsided by the monster, and every time we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!"_

Lance: _"Then what do we do?"_

Hunk: _"Orb!"_

The orb hits Voltron, and the robot was knocked into a cliff. Marcus took to the air again and landed on Voltron's shoulder. "I can't hold off the orbs, but I can give you guys an early warning," he said to them.

Keith: _"Got it! Shiro, we gotta move! Shiro, are you there? Shiro!"_

Marcus switched over to see what was going on with Shiro, and saw that the Black Paladin was lost in thoughts. Almost as if he'd seen a ghost. "Shiro?"

Shiro: _"That sound... I recognize this monster from my time in Zarkon's prison. I know how to beat him!"_

The giant, now known as Myzax, charged at Voltron. Marcus activated the jetpack and flew RC up. Voltron then dodge Myzax's attack easily, rolling to the left to move out of the way as the gladiator slammed his weapon into the cliff.

Voltron leapt away from Myzax and landed a few feet away, as RC flew over to join them.

Shiro: _"Listen, there's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon, and every third time, that orb needs to charge up. That's this monster's weakest point. That's when we strike."_

"I'll attack it from behind," Marcus said. "I'll activate Burst Core and shot that bastard to hell!"

Hunk: _"Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?"_

Shiro: _"Defense!"_

Myzax threw the energy orb at Voltron and RC.

Shiro: _"Pidge, we need that shield!"_

Pidge controlled Voltron to raise the shield up. Marcus quickly went low to the ground until RC was hovering a foot off the surface. He then made his way around the battle, hoping that he wouldn't be seen and then get into position to attack.

The energy orb strikes Voltron's shield, pushing the robot back against the desert floor.

Shiro: _"That's one. Two more to go!"_

Marcus successfully got behind Myzax without being seen, and watched as another strike landed against the shield.

Hunk: _"We can't take much more!"_

" **Burst Core is ready, Pilot."** Marcus quickly activated Burst Core. **"Burst Core activated."** RC dropped the magazine in the Chaingun and loaded in another one. The Arc Rounds were ready for ass-kicking.

Shiro: _"Last one! Everyone brace for impact!"_

The third attack was sent at them, and it hit the shield dead on. It was so powerful that the shield blasted the shield apart, but Voltron is unscathed.

Shiro: _"Now!"_

Marcus pulled the trigger. The Chaingun fired golden rounds that punched and blasted the back of the Galactic Gladiator. They knocked him around, and Myzax was sent down on his front.

When Marcus had run out of bullets, he stopped and reloaded another magazine of Arc Rounds.

However, to his and everyone's shock and horror, the Galactic Gladiator stood up again. It now had a fully charged orb.

"Oh, crap."

Pidge: _"It didn't work!"_

Lance: _"So, now what?"_

" **Pilot look out!"** The warning came too late, and the orbs strike RC and knocked her out of the sky. Marcus grunted to regain control, but was unable to and RC crashed into the ground. Marcus groaned in pain. He was remained right then that just because he was inside of a Titan doesn't mean he's invulnerable.

"Shiro, how did you beat this fucker?!" Marcus exclaimed.

Shiro: _"When I attacked him before, I had a sword!"_

There was no way the Hidden Blade was going to do any real damage. Maybe if RC had a Ronan's broadsword, then maybe it could work.

" **Orb incoming."**

Marcus looked up and saw the orb coming at him. His Titan was kneeling, so he quickly moved out of the attack's way by having RC jump to the right. "Guys, I'm not going to be able to survive another one of those attacks." He had RC stand on the ground. Myzax wasn't focused on Voltron, his attention was on him. That's good, but Marcus might be looking at his dead right here and now.

Keith: _"Wait a second, guys! I think my Lion's telling me what to do."_

"Well, whatever it is, do it fast!" Marcus said, and launched RC into the air. Myzax sent the orb at him again, but Marcus dodged and headed right for the Galactic Gladiator's head.

Putting away the Chaingun and deploying RC's Hidden Blade, Marcus rammed his Titan into Myzax, stabbing into his left eye and making him stumble back. He then repeated and violently stabbed into the giant's eye, before around his head when it tried to grab him.

Now before the head of the Galactic Gladiator, Marcus continued to stab into it.

Then he heard Keith yell in rage and Marcus looked back behind him and the Galactic Gladiator. Voltron slammed his fist together, and then pulled them apart, summoning a giant saber that was prefect for the robot's size and charge at Myzax.

Marcus quickly launched RC away from the Galactic Gladiator, right before Voltron sliced through the monster, and causing it to massively explode all at once.

Stopping RC in the air, Marcus looked back and saw the saber and was amazed. Then he and the others cheered victoriously.

The battle was finally over.

* * *

"No!" Haggar bellowed out in a fit of rage. At the Galra Empire's Central Command, Haggar is able to witness the failure in her own eyes through a Galra drone. Not only that, but it was done with one of the things they based their Destroyers off of—one of those 'Titans'. She turned to Zarkon and claimed, "I'll make another, more powerful."

"That won't be necessary," Zarkon assured her, unfazed by the failure of the Robeast. "Sendak is still alive on Arus. I've given him instructions for how to proceed."

"Can he be trusted?"

"I trained him, and he has his mission. He fights in the name of Galra. Only success or death will stop him."

* * *

Back on Arus, Galra Sentries gather supply crates, while Sendak and another Galra name Haxus overlook the Arusian village. "Zarkon has challenged us to rise from the mud and prove our worth," Sendak said. "We will not let him down."

"Sir, how are we going to take the Castle with just the two of us and five damaged Sentries," asked Haxus.

"By exploiting our enemy's weaknesses."

"What weaknesses?"

Sendak stared at the Arusians. "The worst weakness of all: they value the lives of others."

* * *

Hours later and the sun was starting to good down. Marcus was walking away from the Castle and approaching the grave of Captain Quinton. Carrying his helmet in his left hand, as he carried an Arusian flower in his right, the young Pilot approach the makeshift grave. He stopped, kneeled down, and placed the flower on the rocks.

He also came down here to think. Thirty minutes ago, the prisoners they rescued from Sendak's warship were given a shuttle so that they could leave the planet and return home. Marcus' lips smiled, remembering how Xi said that they gave them hope. It was a good feeling. But he was also here because it'll be the last time he may ever get the chance to visit Quinton's grave.

"I was wondering where you were." Marcus turned around and saw Allura approaching him, wearing her royal gown. "I hope I'm not causing a disturbance," she said.

Marcus smiled and looked back at the grave. "Just wanted to pay my final respects before we leave," he confessed.

"Is this Captain Quinton?"

"That's him." Marcus stood up and stepped back a foot to stand next to her. "Oscar Quinton. The man who trained me to become a Titan Pilot."

Allura looked at Marcus. She saw how much he respected Quinton and how his death caused an upset for Marcus. He said that he wasn't supposed to be a Pilot after getting kicked out of the Militia, and the only reason he became one was because his mentor gave hi RC before his death. "I know that if he saw how far you've got," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "he'd be proud of you."

Marcus turned his head and looked at her. Her sincere expression, along with the glow of the setting sun on her skin, made her beauty radiate. Marcus smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Allura," he said.

He then looked at the grave and stood tall at attention. He gave Captain Quinton one last salute, silently saying goodbye to his friend.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **And here's the 3 chapter of the story.**

 **How do you like the new cover? I decided to change it because the old one was a little boring and I now have Illustrator, so I decide to go wild and make a new cover for the story.**

 **So, what do you think of charging it from Marcus' first person view to third person? I'm thinking of leaving it like this, but I can change it back to First-Person.**

 **I have to admit, I've been working on both this and the first chapter of my new story, "** _ **Gem of War".**_ **It's a** _ **Steven Universe**_ **story, and if you want to know that plot, then going to the bottom of** _ **"The Red Dragon**_ _ **Samurai"**_ **and there'll be an AN there. At the bottom of the AN is the plot summary and other information.**

 **Also, for the story, I have a Poll up for which gem weapon the OC should have. I'd really appreciate it if you'd vote on a weapon if you haven't.**

 **That's it for now. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and if you want me to keep writing this story and not abandon it, then please leave a REVIEW. I would really appreciate it if you do. If you any questions or decisions you'd have for me, then please PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


	4. Divided We Fall

**1jesus:** You're welcome, and hope you had a happy birthday.

 **Guest:** Don't worry, I'm not stopping any time soon.

 **J:** Thanks, man. Hope you enjoy "Gem of War" too.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** How would RC even merge with Voltron? Well, not that I think about it, RC could ride on the back of one of the Lions. Or one of the Lions could be a giant arm cannon for RC.

 **LoamyCoffee:** Good to see you too, and thanks.

 **M:** Oh, trust me, I'm not.

 **Serpentdragon:** I'm happy to hear you think that about Marcus.

 **Dressyone22:** Thank you.

 **Dusk:** He'll become more than what he is in the future.

 **the incredible superhulk:** Soon, maybe. I'll have them have a bit of a sweet moment in this chapter, but as for a hug, I'll have it maybe in the next chapter.

 **Dusk:** Uh…Okay?

 **Guest:** Thanks, man.

 **TheNightstalker250:** He might. Not going to ruin anything.

 **Anon:** True.

 **Guest4549:** Right here!

 **Bobby Jenkins:** It's because Gurren Lagann is so powerful that I picked Titanfall. For starters, I never actually watched Gurren Lagann, so I didn't want to start a crossover with one side of it a show I have no knowledge of. Plus, if the robot is so powerful, then what the real need for progression. Plus, I LOVE Titanfall 2. The whole story and lore of Titanfall is interesting to me, and it leaves a lot open for me to mix up both Voltron and the game. Plus, both Marcus and RC will be able to gain experience and grow as characters and partners to become even more powerful, and to take on the Galra.

As for the Devil May Cry/Senran Kagura idea, it's a no. Never played/seen both series, and I just don't think people would want to read about Dante's son, when they could just have Dante himself. That's just me, but I could be wrong.

 **The Dungeon Crawler:** I'll take a look. May not review it, but I'll look into it.

* * *

 **Moore's Logbook:**

 _A few hours ago, we were attacked by an enemy monster robot that was sent by the Galra. Turned out that it was not only a formidable and dangerous opponent, but it was also from Shiro's past. A gladiator that he defeated._

 _The good news is that when Shiro attack Katie's brother, Matt, he did it to protect him. Pidge forgave him, and the two made up. And this also meant that Matt was still alive and out there somewhere._

 _Allura spent a moment with me as I said my final goodbyes to Captain Quinton. But now I'm just wondering, if Zarkon knows we're here, what's to keep him from spending another attack?_

* * *

" **Divided We Fall"**

Night on the planet Arus. Hours after defeating the Gladiator, Princess Allura decided to throw a party in the Castle to bid the Arusians good bye. Outside, as some of the small aliens walked in and out of the entrance, RC stood guard. Turning her head to the left, and then to the right. Monitoring any and all activity outside.

Meanwhile, happiness clouded the atmosphere of the Castle's vestibule. The Paladins and Marcus watched the Arusian King, as he stood at the top of the stairs and presented the team with a reenactment of their battle against the Robeast. They did this by having three groups of Arusians.

The group playing as the Gladiator were made up of two aliens, standing on top of each other. Standing across from them were the two groups playing as Voltron and Marcus and RC. Voltron was made up of five Arusians stacked on top of each other, holding both a makeshift shield and a sword. RC and Marcus were just a mother with her child strapped to her chest.

"The monster fell from the sky!" The Arusian King narrated, standing at the top of the stairs. "It was an epic battle, but Voltron and the Titan were victorious!"

The Arusians pretending to be the Robeast knock down the Voltron Arusians by throwing a tin can at them. Causing them to fall apart. The mother playing as RC pretended to faint and softly fell on her back.

"... No. I said, Voltron and the Titan were victorious!"

The battle ended correctly with the Robeast duo falling over, and the Voltron and RC Arusian shooting right back up. The Arusians crowd cheered.

Allura walked over to the King from the side. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for that... wonderful production," she said with a big, nervous, grin. The last thing the princess wanted was to insult the guests and ruin any chances of an alliance. And so, she then spoke with sincerity. "It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Zarkon and spread peace throughout the universe."

She then reached into a pocket of her royal dress, and pulled out a small object. Allura kneed down and placed in the hands of the Aruisan King an Altean communicator.

"Your Highness... please accept this gift." Allura gently closed the small fingers of the alien around it. "This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help. Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance."

The Aruisan King opened his hands and looked at the device for a moment in wonder. He smiled and held up the communicator to show to his people. "Hoorah!" The King cheered, and the other Arusians cheered as well.

Marcus watched it all from where he was standing with Keith and Lance. "We ought to get something like that," said Hunk as he approached his fellow Paladins and Titan Pilot.

"What do you mean," asked Marcus.

"You know, like a cheer," Hunk clarified. "Like, a team cheer that we do."

"Like G.I. Joe?"

"Mm-hmm." Lance took a moment to think. "Yeah, okay. How about, uh... I say 'Vol' and you say 'Tron.' Vol—!"

"No!" Marcus was quick to shut him down. The last think he was shouting on the battlefield was some stupid cheer like how Lance wanted to do it.

Lance shrugged and tried out his drink. However, the moment he got a mouthful of the drink, the Blue Paladin's eyes snapped wide open and his body reacted to it with a sharp shiver down his spine. The drink tasted terrible, and the others around him could see that by watching Lance trying and struggling to swallow.

After getting the drink down his throat, Lance quickly moved over to where Coran was standing and glared at him. "Coran, what is this," he demanded, before putting a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from throwing up.

Coran was peacefully drinking the same thing before answering. "Oh, this is Nunvill, the nectar of the gods."

"It tastes like hot dog water and _feet_."

"Yeah, makes a wonderful hair tonic as well," Coran told him, dipping his fingers into the Nunvill and sprinkling it on his mustache, making it grow luxuriantly. He walked away as Lance didn't take the information too well and retched.

Marcus, Keith, and Hunk stare at their friend, wondering if he was really okay. Looking all over his standing body. Keith then prodded him, causing him to comically fall over.

Seeing that he was knocked out, Marcus looked for something else to do. Parties weren't really his thing, and he almost felt out of place. However, apparently, he wasn't the only one. Standing at the entrance of the vestibule was Shiro, leaning against the wall while having his head turned to watch the entrance of the Castle.

"Not feeling well," asked Marcus as he approached him. "Or you're not much of a party person?"

"I'm not sure we should be letting everyone wander in and out of the Castle like this," Shiro said in a serious way, looking back at the entrance. Watching the Arusians come and go. "It doesn't seem safe."

"Normally I would agree with you," Marcus said, "but the Arusians won't hurt us, or…anyone." He stopped for a moment when he heard the sound of a hover platter behind him. Marcus looked and saw the platter passing by with two of their alien guesses playfully hanging onto it. "…Much."

He then cringed as they crashed.

"Besides, RC's outside, keeping watch. If anything happens, she'll let us know."

"It still feels like we're sitting ducks, though," Shiro insisted. "Who knows when Zarkon will attack again."

Marcus let out a little sigh of annoyance. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll go out and also do a perimeter check," he told his friend, before placing on his helmet.

While it would have made Shiro feel better to have done it himself, he was fully confident in Marcus' skills as a Pilot. He's really surprised by the young man's progression and quick learning. Then again, as he's learned on the battlefields of the Frontier, you have to be a fast learner. Shiro nodded in acceptance at Marcus.

Giving him a nod, back, Marcus walked down the hall to the exit. Giving him an over the shoulder wave. "Tell the others where I'm at."

* * *

However, outside on Arus, and more than a mile away from the Castle, Shiro's fears turned out to be true. Sendak and his second in command, Haxus secretly observed the Castle of Lions from a low cliff. The Galran commander smiled at what he saw with his protidic eye, which he used to zoom in for a closer look.

"Commander Sendak, the Sentries are in position around the Arusian village," Haxus notified him while looking at the holographic screen of his scanner.

"Luck is on our side," Sendak proudly said with a smirk. "Look, the Castle defenses are down. The door is wide open. With all these Arusians coming in and out, it should be nothing for you to infiltrate." He then spotted RC and spied on her. Zooming in and giving her a red highlight with notes in Galran. "And best of all, we'll have a new Destroyer."

"I may not have to, and nor would we need the Destroyer." Haxus then redirected Sendak's eye onto Pidge, who was walking around the Castle, and a highlighted Rover. Rover was a small Galra Drone that Pidge was able to reprogram to be her helper. "Look. The small one has a Galra drone they've repurposed. If I can just get close enough to clone its signature code, I can send our bomb drone in undetected."

"I knew you would not disappoint me, Haxus," Sendak complimented him. Promoting Haxus to turn and start making his way towards the Castle.

If all goes acquiring to plan, the Paladins would be helpless to stop them.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Castle vestibule, Allura was standing on the catwalk with the Altean Mice. Watching the Paladins interactions with the Arusian. "Look at them, the new Paladins of Voltron," the princess said with a proud smile. "The fate of the universe is on their shoulders."

Down on the first floor, Keith drank a cup of Nunvill, only for his eyes to widen and go blank white when he found out how foul it really was. He spat it out on Hunk, causing him to cover his eyes and turn away. "Ow, my eyes!" Hunk exclaimed, and turned around to reveal some Arusian food on a stick stuck to his eyes. Hunk, Shiro, the village, and surprisingly Keith laughed at the big man.

Allura however, looked unimpressed by their joking around. "... I must portray strength, so no one can tell how concerned I am about the fate of our mission," she reaffirmed. The mouse that was on her shoulder—the blue mouse with red eyes—squeaked something to her. Allura looked and smiled at it. "Let's... keep that a secret."

The mouse squeaked again.

"Who else has secrets?"

The blue mouse jumped off her shoulder. He then used the big mice as a demonstration, pushing his cheeks up.

"Hunk tried to eat what," she asked, before giggle and leaned her arms on the railing. "That is rather amusing. What other secrets?"

The blue mouse with blue eyes jumped on the one with red eyes, and pretended to be Lance. Messing up the fur on its head to make it look like the Blue Paladin's hair. It then used its tail to pretend its shooting things and posing like a cowboy.

Allura deadpanned. "That seems like Lance." She looked at the mice again, wondering if there was something about Marcus. Because the Pilot was outside, Allura wasn't able to mingle with him and ask him about his life and other questions she was hoping to know.

The same blue mouse then pretended to look adorable. With big eyes, blushing cheeks, and leaning its body to one side.

Understanding perfectly what the mice were saying, Allura was taken back. "Pidge is a _what_!?" The alien princess quickly turned down at the first floor and looked at Pidge. Squinting her eyes, Allura watched the female Paladin closely.

Pidge stopped for a moment with a backpack on. She grabbed a hovering platter that was about to move past her and secretly poured the alien food in the backpack. Pidge then pushed the platter away and placed the pack on her back. As an Arusian walked by, Katie picked out the stick from the alien food, and used it to pick her ear. She sniffed the end of it retched in disgust.

These actions made Allura question the mice. "Hmm... Are you sure," she inquired, with the mouse nodding in response. "I'm getting to the bottom of this."

Meanwhile, Lance was staring down at his reflection in the Nunvill in his cup. "I guess we should get used to this space juice," he said with a distressed look. "Who knows when we'll get back home again?"

Hunk wasn't looking so happy too. Moving the Nunvill in his cups around. "Yeah, if ever."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if this Zarkon guy has been ruling for 10,000 years, how long do you think it will take for us to fix it," he asked, before grabbing a bowl of new alien food from a hovering platter. "You know, if we live."

Lance sighed. "Right. That."

Hunk looked at the alien food he just grabbed. "Hey, what do you think the chances are of us landing on a nacho planet?"

Lance smiled fondly. "Well, there's only one planet with Red Beach," he said, remembering his home on Victor, a planet that was one of the key battlefields, Pre-Demeter. It has recovered from the battle, and is thriving again. "Pizza shacks, looking over the water, away from the oil stations, and the garlic knots and... my mom's hugs..."

Tears started to well up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to keep himself from sobbing. "I think this Nunvill is getting to me. I gotta go." He quickly started to walk away, leaving Hunk confused.

As he walked up the stairs, he passed Coran, who witnessed him with a concerned look. Allura walked down the stairs, but didn't notice Lance in his depressed state. The princess of planet Altea approached Pidge, who was followed by Rover. "So, Pidge, we haven't had a chance to really... talk. Tell me about yourself."

"Hmm..." Pidge looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Wondering why Allura was wanting to know about her. "Well, I like peanut butter, and I like peanut butter cookies, but I hate peanuts," she told her. "They're so dry. Also, I sweat a lot. I-I mean, in general, unrelated to the peanuts."

Okay, that wasn't what Allura wanted to know. Pidge then tried to walk past her, but the princess intervened by stepping in front of her. "I-I suppose I was thinking of something a little more _personal_?" Allura gave Pidge a wink. "We have _a lot_ in common."

Pidge was unimpressed, but was willing to give Allura the benefit of the doubt. "Like what," she asked.

Allura's eye comically widened at first, taken back by the question. "Oh, well... Both of us had our fathers taken away by Zarkon," she told Pidge.

"Yeah, but I'm going to get mine back." Pidge stated harshly, but quickly regretted it by the gasp and pained look Allura had. "Augh... I'm sorry. I-I really didn't mean to—"

"No, I understand," Allura insisted, trying to hide away her pain. "I just want you to know that you can confide in me. If there's anything you ever want to talk about..." She leaned closer to Pidge, hoping to hear what she wanted to hear. But the Green Paladin remained silent. "... _Anything_."

"Huh?" Pidge looked lightly taken back, but then a somber expression replaced it. "... Okay. I do have something to tell you."

This very much overjoyed Allura. She was finally going to hear the truth about what the mice told her. "I had a feeling~! What is it?"

Pidge looked down and turned her head away. "I'm leaving Team Voltron."

Allura inhaled and opened her mouth to speak, expecting something entirely different. But when she heard Pidge, Allura stopped and paused for a moment to process what she was told. "Wait, what?!"

"I decrypted the information from the Galra ship about where my family might be, or at least where they were," Pidge informed her, as Allura was flabbergasted. She wasn't planning on telling anyone about this and was going to leave without them noticing, so that they wouldn't stop her. But it looked like it wasn't going to be like that. "I've made up my mind. I'm leaving tonight."

"Pidge, you can't. You're one of five Paladins," Allura protested quickly. Placing her hands-on Pidge's shoulders. "You have a sacred trust to defend the universe."

Quick to tempter, Pidge defensively back away of her grasp. "My first priority is to find my family!" She snapped at Allura. "I thought you of all people would understand. If you had a chance to get your father back, wouldn't you?"

Allura was once again pained by Pidge's words. But unlike the first time, she wasn't able to respond. Only frowning.

"I'm sorry," Pidge said again in regret, but remained firm in her decision. "I should go tell everyone else." Pidge turned and walked away from the princess, ignoring the others and their guesses. Turned out that her outburst caught some attention, but she didn't care.

Followed by Rover, Pidge walked down the exit of the Castle and approached RC and Marcus.

The Pilot was equipped with the Spitfire that Hunk brought with him when they came to Arus. With the Paladins having their Bayard, they all handed their weapons over to Marcus. Luckily for him, the LMG was one of his favorite weapons to use.

Looking around while standing on top of RC's chaise, Marcus and his Titan scanned the area for anything suspicious. But as the minutes went by, he wondered if he did it to keep the Castle safe, or if it was to get away from the party. Mostly it was because he wanted some time to think to himself.

"Marcus?" Hearing his name being called, Marcus turned his body and looked down. He saw Pidge a few meters from him and RC, staring at him. "I need to talk to you." Marcus jumped off RC and she stopped in front of him.

Unbeknownst to them was that Haxus was hiding among the rocks nearby. Pecking over the top the of the rocks, he saw that Pidge and Hover were right where he wanted them to be. Haxus aimed his scanner at them.

The red screen popped up and zoomed in on Marcus, Pidge, and Rover. He highlighted the drone and scanned for its signature code. "Signature code cloned," he said to himself.

However, Marcus caught something out of the corner of his eyes, and turned to where Haxus was.

Before being caught, the Galran quickly ducked back behind the rocks.

Marcus stared in that direction for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders and following behind Pidge and Rover, as they led them back into the Castle. RC follows close behind.

Haxus quickly got to work on his hologram screen and shot his drone with a small bolt of green lightening. This reconfigured of the drone changed its red light to the same green lights Rover had. "Bomb activated," he said, and the bomb drone left him. Haxus then took the opportunity to flee.

As Pidge led Marcus and RC back inside the Castle, the three of them remained oblivious to the reconfigured bomb drone entering the open doorway a few meters behind them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lance sat forlornly in the Bridge of the Castle. After leaving the party tearfully, the Cuban teen from Victor wanted some place to be alone and think.

"Mind if I join you?" Lance looked to his left and saw that the person asking the question was Coran, who hopped down from where the Blue Paladin was sitting to stand next to him.

Lance didn't mind the company, and asked, "How far away from the Frontier do you think we are, Coran?"

"Let's take a look." Coran offered and stepped over to his station. Placing his hand on the module, he brought up a holographic map of the universe to show Lance. He pointed at the very space region in question. "The Frontier is over here," he said, before starting to move the map. "And we're aaaaaaall..."

The long it took for Coran drag the map to where Arus was, the more joyless it made Lance feel.

"…the waaaaay... oveeeeer..." He still hadn't reached Arus.

"You ever notice how far the planets are from each other, Coran?"

"Yes." Coran answered without stopping. "Haven't you been paying attention?"

Lance got up and approached the map. Standing next to Coran and prompting the Altean to stop moving the map. "Yeah, but I mean, like, they're really, really far away. Like, say, my home planet Victor? It's so far, I can't even see it. The... The blue oceans, the white clouds, green grass... I c—-I-I... I can't see any of it."

"You miss the Frontier," Coran stated with a great amount of understanding, and placed a comforting hand on Lance. "I understand. I miss Altea."

"I know we're supposed to be brave Paladins and Defenders of the Universe or whatever, but, honestly? I just want to go home." Lance looked down.

"If I could go home, I would."

Lance and Coran looked up the Frontier's location. "I don't miss the war with the IMC, but I _do_ miss rain, and splashing in puddles."

"Rain?"

"Yeah. It's water that falls from the sky?"

"Oh, we had that on Altea. Only, it wasn't water, more like rocks. Razor-sharp and boiling-hot. Oh, they could knock a hole right in your head."

"Sounds…fun."

"Yeah."

* * *

As for the Galra bomb drone, it was able to slip past the party without detection. It was now moving deeper through the Castle.

* * *

Marcus paced back and forth, shaking his head. After bringing him and the others together, Pidge told them all what her plan was. "So that's it," Marcus asked, stopping to look at Pidge. "You're leaving us?"

Shiro said, "Pidge, no...!"

"The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search," Pidge informed them all, still firmly sticking to her personal mission. "I have a pod already to go."

" **Cadet Pidge,"** RC said, stepping closer to the girl, making her take a step back from the Titan. **"Understand that this is a clear act of derision. A crime in the Militia that is equal to treason, which is punishable by death."**

"We're not going to kill him, RC," Marcus said, quickly stepping between the two, hiding the fact that Katie was a girl. He then turned to Pidge. "But she's right. You can't leave."

"And you, nor RC can tell me what to do!" Pidge snapped.

"But he's right," Keith angerily said. "If you leave, we can't form Voltron. And that means we can't defend the universe against Zarkon. You're not the only one with a family. _All these Arusians_ have families. _Everyone_ in the universe has families."

"Yeah, I have a family," Hunk said, cutting in as Keith glared at Pidge, and she glared at the floor. "They live on the Frontier. I want to be with them. Is that—Is that, like, a thing that can happen?"

Allura towards him in disbelief. She was hoping that the others would have been able to convict her to stay, but now Hunk was talking about leaving. "You want to leave, too?"

"Of course, I do," Hunk admitted. "Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space fighting aliens. I wanted to fight in the war going on in my home, not one that was all over the universe."

"Pidge will stay," Marcus stated, bringing all their attention to him, "and I'll track down Command Holt and Matt."

"What!? No!" Pidge shouted in immediate protest. "This is my rescue mission!"

"It's best for all of us if I do it," Marcus stated, before turning his back to her and started walking towards the vestibule. "Take my advice, Pidge, stay here and help the others. It's what your father would have wanted."

Enraged and reaching her absolute breaking point, Pidge wasn't able to stop her out next selfish outburst. "And what would you know about my father!? YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A FAMILY ANYMORE!"

Marcus immediately stopped.

Shiro, Hunk, Keith, and Allura were greatly shocked at Pidge's outburst. For the humans, they were shocked that Pidge would have actually used his dead family as an insult against him. They all knew full well about the Moore family's death during the Battle of Harmony, and knew that it wasn't something that Marcus liked to talk about. Princess Allura was shocked because this was the first time that she's ever heard about this, and she didn't know that his family was dead.

After calming down and taking a few deep breaths, Pidge's face turned from enraged to shock and horror. "Marcus…I didn't…" struck with guilt, she wasn't able to find any words to justify her outburst.

That's when Marcus turned around and stared at her. He then approached her and took off his helmet. Holding back the amount of fury and sadness he was feeling, Marcus strained himself to have a stern face. "All right, Katie Holt," he said, using her real name. "You wanna go there. Let's go there. I was just like you, in a similar situation. 10 years old. The Battle of Harmony. After the battle, I searched for days, trying to find my parents. And I wasn't going to stop until I found them. I did find them…what was left of them. So yeah. They're dead, and I'm here. Alone."

Pidge's eyes were widened as she listened, not daring to look away from his iron gaze. The others just watched them, as Marcus' eyes were locked on the young girl.

"And now here you are. About to sell out on everything we've built up to this point. Putting the lives of _two_ people over the lives of _everyone else_ in the universe."

"Marcus, I…" Shiro was about to stop him, but Marcus wasn't allowing it.

"You go, find them, and return. I assume that's your plan. But what if they're already dead? What if they've been dead for a long time and you come back. And what if they're alive and you come back, only to find out we're all dead. The universe would be Zarkon's."

Almost close to tears, Pidge continued to listen.

"But I'm not going to stop you." Katie, and the rest were surprised by this. Marcus looked at them. "Hunk's right, we never asked to be here or become this team. We were forced to for the safety of the Frontier. If you want to leave, we won't try to stop you," he told Pidge. All I ask is that you think about what you're doing Katie, and the possibilities of doing it."

Finally breaking away from the Pilot's stare, Pidge looked at Shiro, who nodded at her. Silently telling her that he won't stop her. Katie looked down with a conflicted and guilty expression. However, she remained steadfast in her decision. "I'm sorry," she said, closing her eyes. "You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion."

She started to leave with Rover following. Pidge walked past Marcus, not being able to look him in the eyes right now.

Marcus turned and watched her go, as did the others. He knew his words to her were harsh, but he just wanted for Pidge to truly think about what she was doing. He just wanted for her to know that keeping her hopes up would only cause her more pain. Marcus learned that the hard way when looking for his parents.

" **Moore,"** asked RC, looking at her Pilot. **"Are you alright?"**

Inhaling before he sighed, Marcus said, "not really. I think I just single-handily forced Pidge away and now we're never going to form Voltron."

"Pidge was out of line," Keith told him. "All you were trying to do was the right thing."

Allura walked over to Marcus and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She had tears forming in her eyes, but quickly wiped them away when he looked at her. "I'm so sorry, Marcus. And I don't blame you either," she insisted with a warm smile. Allura then looked towards the direction Pidge went off in. "I just can't believe it. After all our bonding, the team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?"

"More importantly, how are going to save the universe," Marcus asked.

* * *

The doors for the Bridge opened, and the Galra bomb drone entered. At the same time, Lance and Coran were starting to leave.

"Hey, Rover," Lance greeted the drone, initially mistakes the drone for the same repurposed drone. But it ignored him and headed right for the giant Power Crystal hanging from the ceiling.

When it stopped, a beeping sound started coming from it. Lance stopped suddenly. "Wait... Where's Pidge," he asked it, as a gut feeling told him that something was very wrong.

The green lights turned red, and the beeping became louder. Lance stared at the drone and gasped as the realization became clear. That wasn't Rover, and it was a bomb!

"Coran, look out!"

 _ **KA-BOOM!**_

* * *

The explosion shook the Castle, as the blast was felt throughout the Castle of Lions. The Paladins, Pilot, Titan, and Allura were shocked and startled at what had just happened. As she was about to board her pod, Pidge stopped when the explosion hit. In the vestibule, all the Arusians were fleeing out of the Castle, as the humans and princess raced towards the Bridge.

"RC, be on stand-by!" Marcus ordered his Titan, as he ran up the stair. Just before another noise was heard. This one was of the Castle powering down, and all the lights in and outside went off.

* * *

 **{Play Music:** _ **Halo 3: ODST**_ **Original Soundtrack –** _ **"The Rookie"**_ **}**

In the Bridge, Coran groaned as he laid on the floor. All he remembered was Lance yelling at him before being pushed to the ground. Shaken, but mostly unharmed, Coran started to sit up when the sounds of metal clattering.

Smoke filled the Bridge, as the rest of the team, including Pidge, marched into the room. Coughing and covered their mouths with their arms. When they saw Coran sitting on the floor, the group gathered around him. "What happened?!" asked Shiro while he and Hunk helped him sit up better.

"Ugh... I'm not sure." Without really knowing what happened, Coran couldn't really get them an answer.

As the smoke cleared, Allura and the others looked up. Most of the Bridge was in ruin. But the thing that stood out was the destroyed Power Crystal. She gasped in horror. "The Crystal!"

But that's when Marcus looked down and saw Lance. Laying motionlessly on the floor.

"Lance!" he yelled and rushed over to his unconscious friend, with Shiro following. Kneeling down on each side of him, they both grabbed Lance and turned him on his back. He didn't look good at all. Multiple brushes and burns all over his body, and he was groaning softly. "Lance...? Lance!"

"He doesn't look good," Shiro said. If he could, he would be preforming combat first aid in a heartbeat. But with the injuries he had and with little light, there was nothing he could do for Lance.

Pidge was standing next to Hunk, who was aiding Coran with standing up. "We have to get Lance to the infirmary!" She exclaimed urgently

"Without the Crystal, the Castle has no power," Allura told them.

Just then, the Arusian King entered the Bridge. "Lion warriors, our village is under attack!" he exclaimed, sweating with fright. "We need help!"

"Let's get to the Lions!" Keith said.

"You can't," Allura told him. "They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out. We're defenseless."

"Will you not help us," asked the King.

"We'll help you." Marcus stood up with a determined look. "We just—" He stopped when Lance groaned in pain again. Marcus sighed. This was really bad. Rendered defenseless and with the Lions locked up, all they had was RC. They really were crippled. "Coran, what do we have to do to get the power up again?"

"We have to get a new Crystal to get the Castle working again," Coran explained, taking his arm off of Hunk and attempting to stand on his own. "But, to get a new Crystal, we need a ship."

"The pod I was loading, we can use that!" Pidge informed them. "I left the bay door open."

"I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby." Coran turned to the Yellow Paladin. "Hunk, you come with me. I'll need someone big to help me carry the Crystal."

"A Balmera," Hunk asked.

Marcus turned his head to Shiro. "Right, then Keith and I will take RC to go see what's happening at the Arusian village," he told the Black Paladin.

"I'll go with you, Marcus," Allura said to the Pilot. "I brought this on the poor Arusians."

"Then I'll stay here, tend to Lance, and guard the Castle," Shiro said. "We all have our tasks, people, so let's get to work!" The other humans and two Alteans nodded, before they ran out of the Bridge. Leaving Shiro with the injured Lance in his arms.

 **{End song here}**

* * *

After showing them which one of the pods she was going to use to leave, Pidge stood next to the vehicle while Hunk and Coran sat in the open cockpit. All they were waiting for was Coran to locate where a Balmera was located. Turned out that the crystal that was needed to power up the Castle came from…whatever a Balmera is.

"It's our first bit of luck," Coran said in the left side seat, looking at a holo-map that showed where a Balmera was. Hunk sat in the right-hand seat and put on his helmet, which was a bit of a struggle. "There's a source not too far. We won't need a Wormhole to get there, thankfully."

The holo-map made a pink line that showed the route they needed to go.

"I made some modifications to the shuttle," Pidge told the two. She then pointed to one of the hologram buttons. "The first change is a cloaking device that I reverse-engineered from the invisible walls on the Training Deck." Katie then moved her finger to the second button. "The second is a tank of booster fuel that I mounted on the fuel line."

"Using that during flight would turn the whole pod into a bomb!" Coran exclaimed, causing Hunk to panic and look back at Pidge in terror.

"Okay. Maybe you shouldn't use that modification after all," Pidge said sheepishly, adjusting her glasses.

The two men glared at her for a split second, before Hunk turned his head to Coran. "We ready to hit it?"

"Right. Let's go." Coran grabbed the controls and started the pod. The thrusters of the pod ignited, and the cockpit's windshield formed to shield Hunk and the Altean.

With it ready to take off, Coran piloted the craft off the landing pad.

Down below, Pidge watched. Deciding to remain behind with Rover to assist Shiro with Lance. She then smiled and gave Hunk a thumbs-up. "Good luck."

Hunk looked over his should at her and returned the gesture.

The flight pod bolted out of the hanger and flew away from the Castle. Going up towards the atmosphere, before leaving the planet.

* * *

Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to help Lance in total darkness, Shiro carried the unconscious Blue Paladin on his shoulder towards the open Castle doors. Shiro figured that with the moonlight, he could better see him and work to make him get better. While also guarding the Castle.

"Hang on, buddy. Help is on the way," Shiro told Lance, hoping that he heard him as he walked down the hallway. However, the former Titan-Pilot stopped when he spotted multiple objects in front of the Castle. The one in the middle was glowing purple, and all of them were coming right for the entrance.

It was Sendak. Approaching the castle with a small platoon of Sentries.

"Sendak!" Shiro exclaimed with a glare, back up a few steps. Knowing he had no choice but to fight, the Black Paladin turned and placed Lance on his back behind one of the covers. He didn't want to leave him, but he had to keep Sendak out of the Castle at all cost.

Afterwards, Shiro ran out of the Castle and approached Sendak. Stopping only a few feet from the exit. Sendak continued to approach, but his army stopped. Then Sendak stopped. Shiro saw that the general's arm was also a prosthetic. A large, powerful, and terrifying clawed gauntlet attached to his shoulder by a violet energy chain.

"Stand aside," ordered the Galran.

"No!" The former Titan Pilot bravely stood his ground and defiantly activated his prosthetic arm and getting into a fighting stance. "You're not getting in."

"Yes, I am."

Sendak then took Shiro by surprise by launching his large prosthetic arm from his body at Shiro, while it remained attached by the violet energy chain.

The arm flew towards Shiro and grabbed him, but his right arm. Sendak then pulled Shiro off his feet and dragged him back towards himself, causing Shiro to grunt in pain.

After he was let go, Shiro groaned in pain and looked up.

Sendak raised the arm and was prepared to smash him with it.

When the arm came down, Shiro jumped back before being crushed. Rolling on his back before stabilizing himself on one foot and knee. He activated his right arm again, and rushed towards Sendak. Furiously slashing at the commander. However, his hand wasn't able to cut through the metal of Sendak's arm. Shiro then jumped at the Galran's head and swiped at it, only for the alien to swiftly side step and dodge the attack.

Sendak then tried to punch him, but Shiro quickly fell back on his training and his agility saved him. Dodging the first attack by jumping over the arm and landing away from the Galran. He did a second dodge by backflipping away from another punch.

The two opponents then yelled and threw their prosthetic fists forward. However, both punches ended up locking at the knuckle. Sending a weak, violet shockwave.

"I see you spent some time with the Druids." Sendak acknowledged with a smirk. Not looking like he's broken a sweat. Shiro on the other hand was starting to pant while sweating. Feeling exhausted. "They do love to experiment. Too bad you didn't get the latest model."

The gauntlet powered up and Shiro was unable to avoid it, before the gauntlet was launched forward at such a level of power. Sendak's arm pushed the Black Paladin off his feet and back into the Castle, before it stopped abruptly, causing Shiro to fly back.

When he hit the ground, Shiro rolled and bounced painfully on and off the metal floor before coming to a halt, directly beside Lance.

Shiro grunted in frustration, pushing past the pain to get up. He looked up and saw the gauntlet coming at him again. When the gauntlet came down, Shiro scrambled away from it, before the prosthetic slammed on the ground. As he ran away, Sendak used his arm and the energy chain to pull himself into the air to come down and strike Shiro.

However, Shiro stopped and turned to face him. And when Sendak came to strike him with his normal arm, the Paladin used his own weight and propulsion against him. Grabbing the commander and tossing him across the Castle's vestibule.

After bouncing off the ground and stopping, Sendak scrambled to recover and attack, while Shiro rushed to attack with.

But just as they were about to kill each other at the same time, the two warriors froze. Both on one knee and having each of their glowing hands poised dangerously against the other's throats. Glaring daggers into each other's eyes.

"Let him go or your friend won't make it!" Shiro heard another Galran say and looked behind.

Haxus dropped Lance's body like a rag doll at his feet. On each side of the second-in-command stood Sentries, all their aimed at either Shiro or at Lance.

With Shiro distracted, Sendak had the opportunity to strike. Before Shiro could react, the commander punched him. Sending him flying a few feet back before landing and sliding unconscious across the floor. His body stopped when it was next to Lance's.

With the Paladin down, Sendak stood up triumphantly. "Voltron is ours."

Meanwhile, on the catwalk, Pidge was still in the Castle and watched Sendak beginning his march towards the Bridge. Shiro and Lance's bodies were dragged by two Sentries, while Haxus order some other Sentries to drag a large, violet crystal with them.

"Oh, no," Pidge whispered, hugging Rover tightly to her chest. Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to attack any of the Galra and make it out alive, Pidge began sneaking away from the vestibule. Hoping to get someplace safe.

* * *

Marcus had RC ran as fast as the she could towards the village. Allura, Keith, and the Arusian King rode on the Titan's back without any real struggle. In the beginning they flew towards the village, before landing when they were halfway near it. This was so that they weren't spotted by the enemy and they could have the element of surprise.

Marcus had RC ran as fast as the she could towards the village. Allura, Keith, and the Arusian King rode on the Titan's back without any real struggle. In the beginning they flew towards the village, before landing when they were halfway near it. This was so that they weren't spotted by the enemy and they could have the element of surprise.

Upon arriving to where the Arusians were gathered, Allura and Keith jumped off RC—while Allura carried the King down—and walked to the edge of the cliff to see the Arusian village. Most if not all the houses were ransacked and on fire. Some massive explosions went off, destroying more homes.

"What's happening down there, RC?" Marcus ordered, wanting to know who was responsible. All the destruction and devastation where bringing back unpleasant memories of the Battle of Harmony.

" **Unknown. I'm unable to detect the cause of the fire or those responsible."**

"Look! Attackers!" The Arusian King exclaimed and pointed towards somewhere in the village. There they spotted Galran Sentries standing among the flames. Another explosion detonated, obscuring the Pilot's view of the robots.

" **The flames and explosion are interfering with my scanners,"** RC said, and Marcus popped open the hatch and jumped on. His Spitfire armed and ready. And in his other hand was the G3A1.

"I'll go in for a closer look," he said the others and RC. He then threw the battle rifle at Keith, who caught it with ease. "Keith, you proved look out and call out any more attackers. RC, guard the princess and the villagers." He ended things by jumping off the edge. Diving right into the fray.

" **Engaging Guard Mode."**

"Marcus!" Allura worriedly protested, but wasn't able to stop him.

Marcus slid fast down the steep hill slope, and just when he was about to reach a drop off and fall, the Pilot used his feet and launched off the slope. The armor inner augments powered his jump, and Marcus flew far across the air and over the fires.

And then he started falling near to where the Sentries are. Landing on one of the burning houses, Marcus jumped off before the roof caved in.

Flipping the safety off, Marcus turned his body to the left wail midair, and aimed the LMG right at the robot. Time seemed to slow down for the young Pilot, as he waited for the red dot to be just a millimeter from being dead-center of his target's head.

That's when he pulled the trigger, and the gun spat out rounds of 7.62mm rounds. The rounds hit the Sentries' head, destroying the head. Marcus' momentum also allowed him to cut through two more robots.

The jump came to an end when Marcus bounced off the wall of a burning house and land on his feet. Now on the ground, he aimed at the remaining robots.

But, they didn't react to him. Actually, the Sentries didn't react at all.

Then a large water tower fell over and hit the ground, causing it the shake a little. And it was surprisingly enough to make two of the Sentries.

"What the hell?" Behind his helmet, Marcus face expressed his confusion. He didn't lower his gun and cautiously walked over to them. However, he stopped when he saw why the Sentries were actioning strange.

It's because they were already broken. They weren't even working, and were just tied to wooden poles to make them stand.

Marcus' eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no." He quickly communicated RC. "RC, get ready to take off!"

On the cliff, Allura and Keith also heard the transmission. "Marcus, what's going on," Keith asked tensely.

"They tricked us!" In the village, Marcus ran as fast as he could to the cliff, before jumping from roof top to roof top. "It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the Castle defenses!"

Allura gasped and looked in shock towards the Castle. For a moment, it was still powered off.

But when Marcus climbed back onto the cliff, things went from bad to worse when the Castle of Lions started to power up in the standard Galra violet as opposed to the natural Altean blue.

Marcus quickly got into RC and the hatch closed, controls passing over to him. "Get on!"

"There's no time! We'll slow you down!" Allura shouted, turning to the Titan. Marcus could see how terrified she was. "Go! GO NOW!"

Marcus activated the thrusters in a heartbeat and jumped off the ground. Allura and Keith watched as RC then bolted for the Castle. The Red Paladin turned to Allura with a serious scowl. "Come on!" He exclaimed, before they both activated their jet packs and followed after the faster Titan.

Marcus pushed RC's thrusters to the limit as the two speeded to the Castle at high speed. But as they neared the Castle, the Pilot gasped when he saw the particle barrier taking form. Just like the lights, it was now made up of violet, transparent panels.

Know that he wasn't going to make it, Marcus landed RC a few meters away from the Castle and the drove the Titan running forward.

" **Pilot, with our current speed and the speed of the particle barrier, we're not going to make it through,"** RC said.

"We don't need to! I just need the speed," Marcus told her, glaring with determination as he approached where the barrier was going to close.

He wasn't going to get RC in, but he could still make it.

Right went he a meter away from the closing barrier, Marcus simultaneously stopped and popped the hatch up. Jumping out with the aid speed from his Jump Kit. Upon landing, Marcus slid across the ground towards the Castle, as the barrier was nearly done closing.

Remarkably, he made it, and just before the barrier was complete.

Panting, Marcus eyes were wide behind his visors. He was not only relieved, but shocked that he was able to even make it before the barrier closed. Quickly clearing his head and getting up on one knee, Marcus scanned the perimeter while having his Spitfire at the ready to fire at any Sentries or Galran he saw.

But there was no one. The courtyard was abandoned. "RC, scan the area for any enemies."

" **Scanning. No hostiles in the festivity. But there are two Galran and Sentries. As well as three humans. Two near the enemy."**

"Marcus!" The Pilot looked behind and saw Allura and Keith flying towards him with their jetpacks. Upon landing, the two ran over to the barrier. "Are you alright," she asked with concern.

"For all intents and purposes, alive and not cut in half." Marcus cracked the joke to lighten the mood.

" **Pilot, be advised: I'm intercepting a long range video transmission coming from the Bridge. Patching through."** After she said that, Marcus' HUD displayed two small screens. Keith's visor also displayed the transmission, while Allura watched the Red Paladin's visor and listened through her earrings—which were also communication devices.

The one of the left showed Sendak, and the right was a menacing looking Galran. But Marcus had a good hunch he knew who that was.

When Allura saw who it was on Keith's visor, her anxious faced turned into a look of fury. " _Zarkon_." She hissed.

Zarkon: _"Sendak."_

Sendak: _"My mission is complete. I've captured the Altean castle, along with all of the Voltron Lions. I am currently preparing for launch and will be delivering them all to you shortly."_

Zarkon: _"This news is most pleasing. You have done your duty._ Vrepit Sa! _"_

Sendak: _"_ Vrepit Sa! _"_

The transmission ended.

"That's not good." Marcus shook his head.

"Can we break through the barrier," Keith asked, summoning his Bayard.

"Not when they have control of the Castle," Allura told him, serious but also very anxious. She then turned to Marcus and walked over to the particle wall. Marcus went closer to her as well and listened to her. "And whoever has taken the Castle has a Crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. You have to stop them before they take Voltron!"

"How am I going to do that," Marcus inquired.

Pidge: _"Keith? Marcus? Can any of you hear me?"_

Marcus was almost a little surprised to hear Pidge's voice. "Pidge, is that you?" Keith asked over the comms. "Where are you?"

Pidge: _"I'm inside the Castle. Sendak has taken over and he's preparing for launch. He's got Lance and Shiro."_

"Pidge, listen." Allura talked to Pidge over the channel. "Marcus was able to get past the barrier, but Keith, RC, and myself are locked out. If they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it."

"Me and Pidge will stop them," Marcus told Allura. "What do we have to do?"

"The two you will have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the Central Energy Chamber." As Allura instructed him, Marcus' HUD pulled up a mini map of the Castle. When he found the Central Energy Chamber, he marked it with a Checkpoint. "If you can do that, Sendak will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time to find a way to stop them."

" **Pilot, Pidge, to increase your chances of survival and success, I recommend regrouping at this elevator shaft that right above the Central Energy Chamber."** RC said before changing the Checkpoint to be where the elevator shaft was. It was deep inside the Castle, and Marcus knew he was going to have to be careful navigating through it.

Pidge: _"Right, I got the location. I'll see you there, Marcus."_

"You too. Stay safe," Marcus said, before ending the transmission.

"Marcus." Allura stopped him for a moment, while at the same time getting his attention. She was hesitant for a moment, before placing a hand on the particle barrier. "Please, be careful."

Marcus stared at her for about three seconds. Luckily the helmet didn't show his flushing cheeks. Was she really that worried about him? Standing before him, behind a wall of particle energy was a beautiful alien princess caring deeply for his own safety.

Right now, Marcus could have really called himself a sucker for the princess, as he took one step closer to the wall and did what could have been the sappiest thing he's ever done. He placed his right hand on the barrier where her hand was and nod. "You too."

Allura stared at him with wide eyes and blushing red cheeks as Marcus pulled away from the barrier and started running towards the inside of the Castle. Now there was a weird feeling in her stomach and the princess just stood there as frozen as a statue.

" **Princess Allura?"** RC spoke to get Allura's attention. That was enough to get her to snap out of it and she quickly turned to the Titan and Keith. The Paladin gave her a raised eyebrow, while RC leaned closer. **"Are you feeling well? Your vitals—"**

"I'm fine!" Allura exclaimed with a squeak in her voice, still blushing.

* * *

Meanwhile, far away from Arus, Hunk and Coran had finally reached the nearby Balmera in the modified flight pod. The planet was covered in a, rocky landscape, and some protruding rock formations.

"Is this the Balmera planet with the crystals," Hunk asked the royal advisor.

"It's not a planet. Balmera are ancient animals. Petrified, but still alive," Coran informed him as they entered the atmosphere. "Their bodies naturally create the crystals that help power many Altean ships."

He then pulled up a blue screen that showed the creature's thermals. It then zoomed in on one location, before it displayed a sparkling, beautiful landscape of the Balmera. "I often accompanied my grandfather to visit these majestic creatures when he was building the Castle of Lions. I'll never forget the first time I saw the sparkling surface of a Balmera. You're in for quite a treat."

However, as the screen went off and they were clear of the clouds, they were greeted with a completely different sight all together. The surface wasn't beautiful at all. It's a barren, brown surface wasteland riddled with holes. And worse was that there were Galra structures around most of the holes.

"Oh, no... This is horrifying," Coran gasped, looked around the living planet in appall and anger. "The Galra have turned this into a mining colony! Oh, they're completely destroying it! They have no regard for the poor creature!"

However, a large shadow moved in above and from behind the pod. The vehicle's sensors picked it up and blared its alarm. Hunk looked down at the device alerting them and saw the red blip on it. "Uh-oh. We've been spotted."

Clearing the clouds and flying closer to the heroes was a massive Galra fighter jet. _"Hailing unidentified craft. State your ship ID, entry code, and landing destination."_

"Oh, no. What do we do?" Hunk turned to Coran with a worried look, while starting to panic.

"Just stay calm," Coran told him, before radioing the Galra fighter in an attempt to alleviate the problem. "We don't really need to land. Uh, we're just looking around, if that's okay."

 _"Unidentified craft, land immediately and prepare to be boarded,"_ said the pilot of the fighter, as it flew beside the pods.

"Okay. Uh, thank you. See you down below." Coran however, meant it in a different way. He threw the flight pod in reverse in an instant, and the pod responded in a snap. Its main thrusters turned off, before it's forward-facing thrusters blasted the craft back.

Hunk started screaming as the royal adviser started pulling off some crazy piloting skills. Spinning into proper position and then taking off to escape the fighter.

However, the Galra fighter was instantly on the pod and started firing its lasers at it.

"Not done yet. Hang on!" Coran sent the flight pod into a nosedive and dived down into a dark mining hole at full speed.

Hunk continued screaming at the royal advisor's crazy piloting, as they continued flying down the hole. He would stop for a moment to collect more breath, then start screaming his head off again. "Coran! Coran!" He yelled, before the royal advisor turned on the ship's headlights. The further down they went, they saw Galra structures along the walls.

After a long while, Hunk finally stopped screaming. Calming down as the lack of anything occurring for several moments sapped his motivation to continue. He looked around a second in confusion. "... ... How deep is this thing," Hunk asked Coran in a much calmer voice.

But the calm did not last, as right in front of them were several Galra pipes and structures that stretched from one side of the hole to the other.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no—!" Hunk yelled. The flight pod was speeding too fast to avoid the structures before colliding with one of them. Now Coran joined the larger human in screaming earnestly, as the small ship started spinning out of control as it fell.

Pod continued falling, but luckily Coran was able to bring them into a safe crash landing at the bottom of the hole. But it wasn't smooth either. Once the ship touched the ground, it skidded across the dirk before stopping when the nose hits the wall of the cave.

Both human and Altean groaned in pain as the windshield of their flight pod dissipated. The eerily silence of the mine prompted Hunk to look around after taking off his helmet. There was really nothing down there. Only the walls and floor.

He then turned his head towards an open cave. Hunk stared at it for a moment.

From the darkness of the cave, two pairs of glowing eyes appeared and stared right at them.

This made Hunk ask apprehensively, "Coran, what lives at the bottom of these mines?"

* * *

Back on Arus, Marcus and Pidge were able to meet up at the closed door of the elevator shaft after making their way through the Castle of Lions.

Marcus grabbed the closed doors and grunted as he forcefully pulled them apart. He looked back at Pidge and motioned with his head for her to go through. Pidge fitted herself under his arm and stepped onto the edge of the shaft. "Hey, Rover," she called for her robot, and Rover followed her inside the shaft and hovered in place.

Afterwards, Pidge started down the shaft by gradually jumping from wall to wall.

Marcus then jumped out of the elevator doorway and fell down the shaft. Falling right past Pidge, who gasped in horror, believing that he was going to die.

However, Marcus' Jump Kit burst out one strong thrust that stopped him in the air for a moment. Only a few feet from the ground. Before falling the rest of the way down to the bottom. He knew that his Pilot suit was able to take the landing if he didn't use the Jump Kit, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Pidge landed at the bottom and gave him a look. "Show off."

"I do aim to please."

* * *

But they better hurry, because in the Bridge, Sendak may have been oblivious to their infiltration and believed that the remaining free Paladins are trapped outside the Castle, he was getting ready to launch the ship.

"Run main cluster activation sequence," he ordered Haxus.

"Activation sequence initiated," Haxus informed him. "Powering up for launch."

* * *

The door to the Central Energy Chamber opened, and Marcus and Pidge stepped inside. Marcus with his pointed into the chamber and Pidge with her Bayard summoned.

The Central Energy Chamber was a large, circular-shaped room with a long catwalk that stretched out to the center with no supporting structures. At the other end, the catwalk turned into a large ring that encircled a loosely formed, blue sphere of energy.

"Okay, Allura, we're near the turbine," Marcus said into his helmet, as the three raced towards the other side. But as they got closer, the sphere was becoming larger. "And now the giant ball of energy is growing."

Allura: _"Then you'll have to hurry. Cross the catwalk to the main column in the center."_

Marcus, Pidge, Rover quickly made their way to the center and reached the engine turbine's control column. The Pilot lets the young girl do it, knowing that she would be better for handling this stuff.

"Okay," Pidge said.

Allura: _"Now, open the hatch."_

Pidge kneeled down and pulled up the hatch to the column and looked inside.

Allura: _Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence..."_

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Pidge paused the princess, panicking a little. "Which one is it? All the labels are in Altean!" Marcus looked in the opening and saw that the turbines were indeed labels in Altean. But for some reason, it didn't bother him.

To put it in a better choice of words. He couldn't read them, but it was more like he could understand what they meant.

Suddenly the massive energy started to swell in the chamber, and shoot off streams against the walls. Marcus snapped out of it and looked at the energy in shock. "Allura, which one of these damn symbols, is it?!" He exclaimed into the comms. However, all he got was static. "Allura? Allura?!"

* * *

"Marcus!? Marcus, come in!" Allura yelled for the Pilot, but she wasn't picking up a signal at all. "I've lost connection with them!"

" **Princess,"** RC said, looking up at the Castle with Keith, getting Allura to see what they were seeing. All around them dirt was being kicked up and thrown back by intense winds. All they could do is watch helplessly, as the ship was starting to launch.

"Oh, no! It's taking off!"

* * *

Panicking to find a solution, Pidge looked back into the control's opening and looked at the energy turbines. She tried thinking of anything to stop the ship from going. But there was really only one way she knew how to get it to stop.

She summoned her Bayard and looked back at Marcus.

Marcus looked at her, then the mass of energy. They were out of opinions and out of time. Hopefully Allura can fix this. "Do it!"

Pidge then turned her head to face the energy turbines and slammed the Green Bayard into them as hard as she could.

The two screamed in pain as a violent reaction from the turbines threw Pidge into Marcus. With a strong amount of force, they were sent across the Chamber, before they landed separately beside each other on the floor of the catwalk. Groaning, Marcus sat up before Pidge did, Rover joined them, and the three watched as a disburse of energy came from the giant blue ball, before it shrank down to a much, much smaller form than what they saw.

The Pilot looked at the Green Paladin and Rover looked at both of them. Then smiles appeared on their faces and let out a sigh of relief.

They did it. They successfully interrupted the launch.

* * *

"The main engine just shorted out!" Haxus informed Sendak, baffled by this unexpected development.

Sendak marched over to where the second in command was and Haxus brings up a video footage of the Central Energy Chamber. Trying to figure out what just happened.

In the video, they spied Marcus and Pidge fleeing from the Chamber. Zooming in, the Galrans saw the Pilot and Paladin work together to open the elevator doors, letting Rover go first, before moving inside. The doors closing behind them.

Sendak glared at the video footage. "We have saboteurs. Find them and take them out."

* * *

 **After a long wait, here it is. Chapter 4.**

 **I'll get to work on the fifth chapter right after this to close up the Arus Arc.**

 **And just so you know, after this, Marcus will NOT leave to find Matt and Commander Holt. It's not going to happen. I just put it in because I was asked if Marcus could leave Team Voltron to go find them, but I'm not having him leave the team. He only wanted to go to keep Pidge from having to leave.**

 **Also, there was some Marcus x Allura fluff for you guys.**

 **That's it for now. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and if you want me to keep writing this story, then please leave a REVIEW. I would really appreciate it if you do and it helps motivate me. If you any questions or discussions you what to have with me—related to Fanfiction—then please PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful Veterans day.**


	5. Freedom and Family

**gabeherndon308:** glad that you like the story, and as for Marcus having some kind of power, I don't know. Maybe, but I'll have to think about it. I may have Marcus be arch enemies withPrince Lotor.

 **1jesus:** Thanks. You're awesome too.

 **LoamyCoffee:** Hail! Hail! Hail! And too bad I'm still stuck on season 3…I think.

 **Dcraus:** Not interested in Akame Ga Kill, and I'll think of something for a RWBY story, even if I dropped off the series. Please also tell me what you think about the chapter.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Would you lose it if someone talked about your parents like that? And thanks, man.

 **Guest:** The Star Wars/Korra story is going to be coming after at least one or two of my other stories are finished. As for "Wolf in the Land of the Cats," I've decided not to do that story, mostly because I just didn't like Thundercats all that much.

 **Serpentdragon:** Thanks. Even though Marcus is the main focus for me on the story, I do try and make him believe in not just as a character, but as a character in the show. I have no plans to making him overpowered, other than in combat, but then again, he is a Titan Pilot.

 **Guest 2:** If I'm going to make a RWBY story, I'd just have it an OC male joining Team RWBY, and he'd be paired with Yang.

 **Guest-Questioner:** Yeah. And here's the next chapter.

 **Bobby Jenkins:** I'm not even thinking about that, dude. I'll probably start "Last Light" after finishing one of my stories. After all, I'm working on seven at a time.

 **Guest:** When it's time for me to do them.

 **Glavie165:** Wish granted!

* * *

 **Moore's Logbook:**

 _This wasn't looking good. First Pidge was willing to leave the team, and now Sendak was still alive and took over the Castle._

 _He's captured Shiro and Lance, leaving me and Pidge the only ones in the Castle to stop and take down the Galra._

 _It was morning now, and we were going to have to do everything in our power to stop Sendak from taking Voltron._

* * *

" **Freedom and Family"**

"Haxus! I want whoever's in this ship found and terminated!" The booming orders from Sendak helped Shiro in starting to regain consciousness. His head was hit with a massive amount of pain. His body was also aching, as he shrugged to open his eyes. He was on his knees, with his hands bonded behind his back. To his right, Lance was laying on the floor, still out cold.

He looked up and saw that he was on the Bridge, but the blue hue of the room was replaced with the Galra's violet. This was due to a large purple crystal that they hooked up to the Castle with the use of tubs.

"Commander Sendak, I've received a transmission generating from somewhere inside," Haxus told the commander, who was standing before the crystal and staring at it. Haxus then relayed the communication over the main console's speakers for all in the Bridge to hear.

ALLURA: _"There's not much time before they get the ship running again. The two of you must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in."_

Marcus: _"You got it. Tell us what to do."_

RC: _**"Pilot; the Castle of Lion's particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull. Marking location on your HUD."**_

"She's telling the intruders how to take down our defenses," said Haxus.

But Sendak wasn't bothered, too much that is. "Yes, but she's also giving away their location." Shiro pretended to be conscious again and lowered his head down when Sendak turned to his Sentries. "Find that room. Kill the Paladin and Pilot!"

The damaged Sentries turned and marched out of the Bridge. Leave Shiro and Lance unguarded with only the threat of Sendak and Haxus remaining in the Bridge.

"Repair the engine," Sendak then ordered Haxus. "Emperor Zarkon has commanded us to bring him Voltron. This ship will rise before day's end."

 _ **{Balmera}**_

Back on the Balmera, Hunk and Coran were out of the pod facing the cave the yellow eyes were coming from. Hunk had his cannon Bayard summoned, as the two creatures started coming towards them.

Both men whimpered in fear, before the Yellow Paladin raised his cannon Bayard in defense. "Okay, don't come any closer!" He warned them. "I don't know how to use this very well."

As the creatures approached them, they stopped when they stepped out of shadows. Revealing themselves to being bipedal aliens who stood taller than the average human height, are somewhat reptilian-like, with various gray-toned skin covered in bumps on their shoulders, forearms, and legs. No apparent nose, and their scalps appeared to be of a harder material than their skin, darker in color, and reaching as low as their jawline while also lining the center of their face and protruded on either side of their face. And they had tails, and were wearing tunic like clothing.

Hunk raised an eyebrow and lowered the cannon. "Wait a minute. You're not Galra."

"Nor are you!" said the second alien, whose voice was female-like. But before they can properly greet each other, she gasped as the sound of a space craft.

Slowly descending down the mining shaft was the Galra battle patrol jet from earlier, scanning the walls.

"A patrol!" exclaimed the first alien, sounding like a male. He turned and placed his hand on the female's shoulder. "Shay, we must take leave from these ones, now."

"Wait, please!" begged Coran. "We need your help. If the Galra find us, they'll kill us."

"Or torture us," Hunk added.

"Or keep us as some sort of creepy pet to play with how they please."

"Not our problem, Hairy Lip," the male responded rudely. "Galra see us near you and they kill both you and us. Shay, exeunt!"

"No! These many years only Galra have been seen here," Shay said, gesturing to the heroes. "I will not turn my back on the skylings." Hunk and Coran smiled with appreciation.

The male looked up and the jet. "... Vex!" he cursed before running over to the pod with Shay following him. "Grab a side. In here. Hurry!" The two aliens pushed the flight pod out of sight into the cave they came from, with Hunk and Coran following in.

In the cave, they watched with Hunk having his cannon ready as the Galra patrol passed by without detecting them.

He sighed and deactivated his weapon. Hunk then turned to their saviors. "Thanks for saving us. I'm Hunk," he greeted them.

"Shay. And this one, my brother Rax," Shay told Hunk, who didn't look at Hunk with any real interest. "How did you fall to us?"

"Well, we came looking for something. And you guys might be the right people to help us find it."

 _ **{Arus}**_

Allura: _"Pidge, Marcus, have you made it to the Generator Room?"_

Back in the Castle of Lions, Marcus and Pidge ran down the hall and entered into the Generator Room. It was a long hallway with a catwalk they were able to walk on. On each side along the walls were dangerous energy arcs that were violet.

"We're in," Pidge told the princess through the team's communication channel. She looked around at the machines. "This technology is so advanced, I don't know if I can figure it out."

Allura: _"Yes, you can. The lives of your fellow Paladins are at stake. You can't give up."_

Marcus let his Spitfire hang from its sling and walked down the catwalk. "Come on, Pidge, let's do this," he said to her without looking at her. However, Pidge wasn't moving. When the Pilot noticed, Marcus looked over his shoulder to see what was going on.

Katie just stood there with a trouble and depressed look. Marcus thought that this was starting to become too much for her. However, the reality was that Pidge was reflecting on her life. And how she got here.

 **[Flashback]**

 _The day before the launch of the doomed Hex Mission, Katie Holt sat with her entire family at dinner._

 _Katie was born in the Freeport System, a star system on The Frontier. It is home to at least two planets and several moons. Her home planet was Serenity, sister-planet of Harmony. Once a shipping yard used for IMC megacarriers needing to make emergency landings, it was liberated and turned into the Militia's secondary base of operations, as well as a restarting colony for military families._

 _"Hope you enjoy this home-cooked meal, Matt," said Commander Samuel Holt of the Militia. He was a middle-aged man of modest build, somewhat thin eyebrows, a notably long jawline, and keeps his hair cropped short. "After our launch to Hex tomorrow, we'll be eating freeze-dried peas for the next two months."_

 _The young girl smiled happily as she listened to her father talk to Matt about their mission to the moon. Back then, her hair was longer, reaching down to her back, and she would wear it with a purple headband. Tonight, she was wearing a long lavender and white dress and mary janes shoes of a similar lavender color._

 _Hex was an ice moon and one of three that belonged to an unknown planet that was deemed inhospitable. The mission was to place the first humans on it, as it was the farthest astronomical body in the Frontier. Many high officers of the Militia didn't see the point in any of this, and wanted for Holt to continue commanding carriers. But after much debate about expanding the Frontier, he was able to convince them and get the mission authorized._

 _"Don't lie. I know you love those peas, Dad," said Matt Holt. His appearance was heavy similar to Pidge that the two would be mistaken for each other. But unlike Pidge, his bangs were not gathered in a heavy cluster at the center of his face._ _Instead, they were very short, exposing his forehead and his thick, brown eyebrows._

" _It's true." Samuel chuckled. "Those Garrison chefs really know how to genetically manufacture a delicious vegetable."_

 _Katie sighed sadly. "I wish I was going up with you guys," she said, as their dog stood up on its hind legs and put its front paws on the table._

" _Just you wait, kiddo. Something tells me that you're going to have your own crew someday. And you're going to fight with them for a tomorrow we can't even imagine," Commander Holt informed his daughter. These words help grow a bright smile on Pidge's face. "I bet my bottom dollar you're going to be part of something that makes the whole universe sit up and take notice."_

* * *

 _The next day, the Militia Garrison spacecraft launched from Trident. Thanks to the ships Jump Drive, which like all other Jump Drives, folds and compresses time and space to allow ships to travel faster than light, the ship made it to Hex in an instant._

 _However, six hours into the mission, all contact with the Militia Garrison and its crew was lost._

["Away from the fighting, we've just been given reports that the Militia Garrison mission to the distant moon of Hex is missing, and all crew members are believed to be dead. The Frontier Militia and the Garrison have said the crash was presumably caused by pilot error. It is, indeed, a sad day for all of the Frontier."]

 _Katie and her mother watched the new broadcast in shock and horror. But as her mom mourned for the loss of her husband and son, Katie was also hurt by the news. However, she quickly became angered. Angry at the presumption that her father and brother were killed and it was due to pilot error. She refused to accept it, and wanted to get to the bottom of it._

* * *

 _That's why a few days after the mission was deemed lost, Katie left home and traveled to Trident._

 _After sneaking into the base, she quickly passed the security guards and snuck into the office of the Commander Iverson, the man who authorized the mission. Katie then quickly put her skills to the test and began hacking the system for any information about the missing ship._

 _There was nothing about what happened to her family, but there was enough evidence for what she wanted to know._

 _But then the lights turned on, and she gasped. Looking up at the doorway, Katie saw none other than Commander Iverson. "You again?" yelled Iverson, as she back away from the computer. "Get off my computer! How did you get past the guards?"_

 _"You people said the spacecraft went down due to pilot error. I saw the video feeds from your probes. There's no evidence of a crash anywhere on Hex!" Katie exclaimed at the Militia officer with a glare._

 _That started getting Iverson mad. "Those feeds are classified!" He then grabbed Katie by the arm and started to pull her towards the door. "I could charge you with treason for hacking into them."_

 _Katie was dragged into the hall as Captain Oscar Quintain stood by the door. After being let go, Katie turned to Iverson and glared at him. "Where's my family?!"_

 _The commander then turned to the Ace Pilot and pointed at him. "Quintain, make yourself useful and escort Miss Holt off the premises and make sure every guard knows she's never allowed on Garrison property ever again."_

 _Sighing, Quintain walked over, grabbed, and restrained Katie. While being held by the Pilot, Katie began shouting at the commander. "You can't keep me out! I'll find the truth! I'll never stop!"_

 **[Flashback ends]**

Pidge was then snapped out of it when RC called over the radio.

RC: _**"Pilot, Cadet Pidge, be advised; you've got enemy Sentries heading your way. I recommend shutting down the barrier quickly and get out of there."**_

Marcus and Pidge looked at one another. Reaffirmed by their current situation that was paralleled with the past, Pidge asked, "Okay. Talk me through it, Allura."

Allura: _"Shutting down the barrier from this room can be dangerous. Remember, the barrier is also a weapon. So, stay away from the energy arcs."_

"Don't touch the giant lightning bolts. Got it," Marcus said, before looking down the hallway they came from when he noticed something coming their way. The closer it came, the clearer it became, and the Pilot saw that it was the Sentries.

Allura: _"Now, what I'm going to need you to do is—"_

"Look out!" Marcus shoved Pidge aside before she was struck by a laser bolt, as a Galra Sentry fires lasers at both of them. Pidge yelled as she flees from the Sentries, while Marcus followed her, while looking over his shoulder and returning fire with the Spitfire.

* * *

The moment Allura heard Marcus, Pidge's yell, and the sound of loud gunfire that startled her, the princess quickly started to become worried. "Pidge! Marcus! Hello? Are you there?" She called for the two humans. Not to no response and only more gunfire, her worries turned to fear. "Marcus, what's going on?"

" **Princess, my sciatic indicates that the enemy is tapped into our comms,"** RC turned her, getting the attention of Allura and Keith. **"That must be how the Galra were able to direct their forces to the Generator Room."**

Keith understood that meant that they couldn't talk to Marcus or Pidge without revealing their location, or telling them what they are doing. "So, there's nothing we can do," he asked.

However, this gave Allura an idea. "... Wait... the mice! Maybe they can help," she told the two with her.

" **How will the rodents of your planet help us?"**

"Leave that to me." Allura then shut her eyes. Focusing to leak her mind with the mice, so that she would be able to speak to them telepathically. _"Friends, I need your help."_

* * *

And it worked. In the princess' room, the large mouse awakened from his slumber beside Allura's jewelry box. He then opened the box by bumping his rear against it, causing the lid to pop open. The remaining three mice popped their head out from underneath the jewelry and jumped out, following the big mice.

The mice started running to the rescue.

* * *

Back in the Generator room, Marcus and Pidge were each trapped and forced to take cover behind structures on the catwalk. From his cover, Marcus would return fire from the side of the structure, but it wasn't much. Each time he'd shoot at them, the Sentries would return fire and force him to go behind the structure again.

He looked over at Pidge and Rover, as they're taking cover by the structure across from him. "We've got to get out of here!" He yelled over the gunfire.

"I'm looking for it," Pidge responded, working frantically on her holographic computer. She was able to finally find a way, but it wasn't how she hoped it would be. "Our only way out is through that ventilation shaft!"

Pidge pointed to it, and Marcus peeked out a little bit from behind cover to see where she was pointing at. "Seriously? That's two floors up!" He exclaimed in frustration, before avoiding getting shot again.

"Let's try this." Katie then got to work again on her armor's computer, this time to deploy a holographic mimic of herself. Much like Holo Pilots, only this one won't be limited to Pidge's last move.

After she after, Pidge deployed the hologram. No longer getting shot at by Marcus, the Sentries started to move towards them and were a few feet from where the heroes were. It was then that the fake Pidge ran out from her cover. Getting their attention.

" _There!"_ One of the Sentries called, as the fake Pidge jumped in the air. Sentry fired at the hologram, destroying it.

However, Pidge's plan worked. The mimic had jumped right in front of one of the energy arcs. When the Sentry's laser bolt hit the hologram and took it out, it also hit the lightning. The result was a violent reaction, in which the arc exploded and shot out a stream of energy. Taking out one Sentry, while the others ducked out of the way.

Marcus saw this as the perfect moment and stood up from his cover. Quickly shooting from the hip, the Pilot spread a hail of lead into the remaining Sentries. Ripped to shreds, the robots fell over.

"Whoa! Can't believe that worked!" Pidge grinned happily as she stood up. She then ran to the control panel. Finding the button, she pressed the button to power down the barrier.

They waited for it to happen.

…

…

…But nothing happened.

Pidge's relieved expression turned to confusion. "The hell?" She pressed the button again. Then again and again.

After watching Katie start slamming her hand on the controls in frustration, the Pilot quickly got on the radio. "Allura, we've pressed the button, but nothing's happening!" Marcus called, but was only met with static. "Allura?"

RC: _**"Pilot, this is RC-2049 contacting you from a secure channel."**_

* * *

" **Be advised: one of the Galran had left the Bridge and is now in the Central Energy Chamber,"** RC told her Pilot, as Keith and Allura stood beside her while staring. **"It's a high probability that they've hacked into the system and have manually locked the control. Keeping the barrier up."**

Keith and Allura shared a glance. Things were getting more difficult for Marcus and Pidge. Not only did that mean they had to not only get back to the Central Energy Chamber, but they would have to split up to take down both the Galran and the barrier.

* * *

"Find and kill the Galran, got it," Marcus groaned with a shake of his head. He then heard the sound of more Sentry footsteps.

Down the hall, three more robots were coming their way.

"Pidge, time to go!" Pidge looked up and saw the enemy. She and Rover quickly followed Marcus and the three ran to the where the vent was located. The Green Paladin aimed her grappling hook Bayard at the opening and fired it. Marcus watched as Pidge pulled herself swiftly forward and up to the exit shaft.

"I've got to get one of those," said Marcus before using the Jump Kit to wall jump his way to the shaft. Once he grabbed the edge, the Pilot pulled himself into the ventilation shaft and followed after Pidge.

When the Sentries came into the room, one of them turned another robot. _"You stay and guard the generator."_ After instructing the one Sentry, the other two ran out of the Generator room to pursue Marcus and Pidge.

As for the Pilot and Green Paladin, after reaching the end of the shaft, Pidge used the grappling hook to slash the panel blocking their way. Cutting it diagonally, she let Marcus get in front of her, as he had the guns and could clear the room.

Marcus kicked the panel out and crawled out of the ventilation shaft, with his Spitfire held up with his right hand. Scanning around the place they were now in, Marcus found that they were in the Training Deck.

Pidge then crawled out of the shaft and both humans and Rover started making their way to an exit. But then suddenly, the two Galra Sentries broke out of the command room overlooking the Training Deck.

Pidge quickly put up her shield, and Marcus slightly crouched behind her, reloading his Spitfire. As the robots got closer, the Pilot and Green Paladin started backing away. But once he was ready, Marcus stood straight up and fired the LMG at the first Sentry, taking its head off. He then turned to the second Galra machine, doing the same thing to it.

With the threats eliminated, the two humans painted. Marcus lowered his weapon and Pidge deactivated her shield. Mostly relieved to have that over with.

 _ **{Balmera}**_

On the distant Balmera, Hunk and Coran were taken deep into the underground cave systems that were carved out, either from the Galra mining the living planet or my the Balmerans. The two were sitting around a fire with Shay, Rax, and their family after they were served food.

"Thanks for the delicious soup," Hunk said to Shay. "Are these potatoes in here?"

"Grandma's special dish for special visitors," Shay replied. The Yellow Paladin and Coran took sips of their soups. "Cave-root for the skin. Cave bugs for the soul." Both of them retched when they heard that last part. Hunk's cheeks puffed up, before forcing himself to swallow.

"Oh!" said Coran, trying to remain polite. "Eheh... Thank you for the bugs." This made Shay's grandmother happy, and so she started giving him more soup. "Okay, I think that's too many."

"So, how many of you are down here," Hunk asked the aliens.

"There are thousands here on Balmera," said the father. "We work and live in these mines."

Shay picked up where he left off. "We harvest Crystals for Zarkon."

"Zarkon." Hunk growled when he said that name. But also saddened him to hear that they were all slaves to the Galra war machine. "That's so... sad that he's enslaved an entire planet."

"Zarkon may rule, but we still have family," Shay's father claimed with a smile. "That's where true happiness comes from."

However, Rax was the only one in the cave that wasn't very happy and stood up. "The Galra would tear our family asunder if they found these ones," he exclaimed angrily. "Everyone comes to Balmera and takes, but gives nothing in return."

"In the past, those who took the Balmera's Crystals would replenish her with energy." Shay explained to the two heroes. "It was an equal exchange. But the Galra only take." She placed her right hand on the ground. The spot on the floor glow a dim, blue light. Followed by the sound of moaning from the Balmera. "It is no wonder we can feel her suffering."

The sound of the crying creature caused much guilt for Hunk. "I'm sorry that we put everyone in this situation, but the faster we get the Crystal and get out, the faster everyone is out of danger," he told them.

"We're looking for a battleship-class Crystal," proclaimed Coran.

"Battleship-class Crystal?" Shay's father and the others looked at them in astonishment. "Those are most rare. Galra soldiers guard them ceaselessly until their harvest. Your quest is in vain."

"There is one, found only weeks ago." Shay herself informed the freedom fighters. "It is almost excavated."

"Quiet!" Rax quickly snapped and glared at her. "Even if they could steal the Crystal from the Galra, battle patrols wait to take down their ship. These ones have no chance of getting out of here alive, with Crystal or without."

"Okay, so this Crystal we need is basically the hardest thing in the universe to get." Hunk interpreted.

"Well, I don't know about the hardest," said Coran with a hand on his chin. "There is the scaultrite mineral found only in the stomachs of giant weblums. Collecting that stuff's no picnic." He nudged Hunk's side before getting back on topic. "Uh, but, yes, th-this seems very difficult."

"You may stay here until Balmera gives another Crystal," Shay offered the two. "One that is hidden from Galra eyes."

"We don't have that kind of time," Hunk told her and stood up. "I got an injured friend who needs to get into a magic healing machine, stat."

"Hunk, you fix the pod. I'm going to do some reconnaissance and see if I can come up with another plan," Coran said standing up. Hunk nodded and the two departed from the Balmerans.

 _ **{Arus}**_

After exiting the Training Desk, Marcus and Pidge started making their way back to the Central Energy Chamber. As they walked down the hall, Marcus kept the butt of his LMG's stock tuck into his shoulder, ready to kill anything that might pop out. Pidge followed close behind, lost in her thoughts.

Marcus then stopped, causing Pidge to stop too. "Let's rest for a moment," he said, before the two walked over to hide in between two structures on the side of the hallways. Marcus leaned back against the one of the structures and removed his helmet. Hooking it to his belt, he wiped the sweat from his brow and took out his canteen fill with water.

As he drank, Katie leaned against the opposite structure while facing him. She took off her Paladin helmet. Turing it around so that she could at the visor, the young girl started reflecting back to the past again.

 **[Flashback]**

 _Katie stood in front of a mirror, wearing Militia cadet uniform. It wasn't easy, but after hacking and lying her way in, she was finally going to join the army. This would get her inside the Garrison and she'll be able to hack into the computers has much as she wanted. But she was going to have to move fast. She'll only have a limited amount of time before she and the rest of the cadets are set off to the war._

 _But with Iverson here training the recruits and her failed attempted to hack his computer happening only a few weeks ago, Katie was going to have to go in with a new look._

 _"First day of school," she said to herself. Looking down near the left side of the drain, Katie picked up the pair of scissors she set down. "Time for a haircut."_

 _She grabbed and pulled a handful of her long hair and placed the open scissors against it. Katie hesitated, but knew that there was no other way._

 _So, the young girl cuts off the long locks of her hair._

* * *

 _Lance and Hunk were at the list of names that was posted on the hallway wall of the Garrison. "I made it! I'm a fighter pilot!" Lance exclaimed before celebrating with a dance. "Hasta la later, Keith!"_

" _Then I feel sorry for the crew who's getting paired with you." Hunk and Lance turned to see Marcus walking towards them with a smirk._

" _Oh, if it isn't Mr. Superstar-Pilot," Lance groaned as Marcus approached them. "Weren't you being tested."_

" _Yeah, now all I'm doing is waiting for the results," Marcus told him before looking at the list. He found his name with Rifleman beside it. He then looked and saw that Hunk was an Engineer. "You're Lance's Engineer, buddy."_

 _"Cool," Hunk said with a grin. Looked like his plan actually paid off. But then there was something else to worry about. "Uh, can I do that from the ground?"_

 _Lance and Marcus deadpanned at him. The Cuban then looked back at the board. "And our communications officer is... Who the heck is Pidge Gunderson?"_

 _"Right here." The three boys turned and looked at where the voice came from. Katie, aka Pidge, stood there with a raised hand. She put it down, feeling a little nervous with the three sets of eyes staring at her._

 _"Welcome to the team, Gunderson. I'm Lance, your fighter pilot," Lance said as he, Hunk, and Marcus approached the "boy"._

 _"Hey, I'm Hunk."_

" _Name's Marcus Moore."_

 _"We got a lot of great times ahead, so we should probably start bonding now. What do say we sneak off campus—" But as Lance started rambling on about, Pidge noticed someone familiar behind the fighter pilot. She leaned to the left a little and saw Captain Quintain walking down a hallway, talking to one of the legends of the Frontier: Sarah Briggs. Commander of the Special Recon Squadron and its sub-section, the Marauder Corps. Aka, the figurehead of the Frontier Militia._

"— _taken on an apprentice. Why place so much fate in the hands of a Rifleman Cadet," she asked as the two stopped._

" _You saw the test results. Not even Shiro got that high on his first try in the," said Quintain, taking off his helmet. The mention of the Titan Pilot that was assigned to her father's expedition made Pidge frown. "I'm telling you, Sarah, this Moore kid is special."_

 _They then started walking down the hallway towards the direction of the cadets. Pidge quickly saluted with her left arm to hide her face._

 _"Wrong arm, cadet," Sarah told her as the veteran Pilots walked by. Pidge saluted correctly, with Lance, Hunk and Marcus a little startled, but saluted as well._

 _Pidge sighed in relief. Luckily the Captain didn't seem to recognize her._

 _"Hello?" Lance said in an attempt to redirect her attention back to him. "Pizza? Girls? Astronauts?"_

 _Pidge deadpanned at him. "Sorry, I don't have time to mess around with you guys. See you in the simulator," she stated, rudely walking away from the three._

" _What's his problem?" Lance inquired, offended by his teammate's cold behavior. He and Hunk then walked away._

 _Marcus watched Pidge go for a moment, a little surprised that the Militia would let someone as young as her into the army. Was she a going to be a replacement? This many years into the war, he was certain that they'll all end up being one. So, he just turned and walked away._

 _Although seeking solitude inside of Iverson's office to investigate the Hex Disaster, Pidge paused for a moment to watch him and the other two leave. The hesitant expression on her face showed she's wondering if being cold and distant from them was the right course of action. They could even help._

 _But she denoised those thoughts. They wouldn't understand. So, she took her own leave towards Iverson's office._

 **[Flashback ends]**

Back to reality, Pidge snapped out of her state when Marcus held out his canteen to her. Seeing that he was offering her a drink, Katie's throat became parched. So, she grabbed the canteen and started drinking before handing it back. "You what, I've come to realize that I haven't just hurt you, but I also haven't always been there for my team," she said with a guilty tone. But then she looked up and smiled. "But this time I will be."

Marcus was a little surprised by her words, but smiled nonetheless. The Pilot then placed on his helmet and she did the same with hers. The two then turned and ran down the hallway towards their destination.

 _ **{Balmera}**_

As Hunk was at work repairing the Altean flight pod, he too started to think back on his life choices. When he was recruited into the Militia, he had only one goal in mind: staying as far away from the battlefield as possible.

Lance wanted to be a fighter pilot for the fame and glory, which was also something he could have gotten by being a Titan Pilot, but the chances of him making it through the train or even surviving his first batter were next to none. Pidge wanted to get her family back. Marcus wanted to become the best of the best. But Hunk, there was really only one job that he wanted in the army, the Engineers.

They were valued almost as much as Titan Pilots due to their skills in repairing. Most of the time, captured engineers were taken as prisoners of war and not shot on sight by the IMC. Plus, being an engineer meant that Hunk wouldn't be so close to the combat and would be safe. So, he made it by actively failing all other courses except for engineering, so that his chances of being one were greater. He was the lowest scoring cadet, but he was able to be what he wanted.

Back then, Hunk saw it as playing it safe, but now, he was starting to really see how much of a crowd he really was.

"Tell me, what is the sky like," asked Shay, who was beside the large Paladin watching him work.

"The sky?" Hunk stopped for a moment and turned his head towards her. His eyes widened when he finally understood. "You seriously have never even _seen_ the sky?"

"No... but, at night, I sneak up as high as I dare, trying to imagine what it is like," Shay said, after climbing up on top of the flight pod and sat down. "Oh, lucky are you to fly in this machine to worlds far from here."

Wanting to cheer her up, Hunk told her, "Well, it doesn't have to be like this. You can be free, too."

Shay tilted her head in confusion. "Free?"

"Yeah, free," he insisted as Shay jumped down and landed on the rock. "It means you can go where you want, be what you want, do what you want. No Galra masters to tell you what to do."

"It makes no sense," Shay said. "Zarkon controls everything."

"Nope. No, things are changing. Have you heard of Voltron?"

"A child's tale."

"It's real. I'm one of the Paladins, and Voltron is going to defeat Zarkon."

Shay looked at him in amazement. "You are?"

Rax then appeared and scolded the Yellow Paladin. "Stop filling this one's head with your shadow show! The cavern is our home. This will never change. Come." He gestured for Shay to follow him, as he turned and walked away. Shay got off the rock and followed her brother.

Hunk could only watch with concern in his eyes. It was clear that the male Balmeran accepted the safety and comfort of their cavern home, even if it is ruled by the Galra. For Hunk, it was unsettling to think that the Balmerans were actually willing to let themselves become slaves under the Empire.

 _ **{Arus}**_

In the Central Energy Chamber of the Castle of Lions, Haxus at work on the control panel. After undoing the damage Pidge wrought on, he was preparing to reboot the launch sequence. "Powering sub panels," he said through the radio.

Sendak: _"Sub panel energy transducer is go."_

"Aye, sir. Opening pathway to link with Bridge. Initializing main cluster reboot."

However, unbeknownst to Haxus, Pidge and Marcus has returned to the chamber with Rover. When Marcus saw the Galran, he was about to shoot and kill the enemy, but there was a problem. The fight with the Sentries had used up all his ammo for the Spitfire. And he couldn't reload as the gun who make too much noise and they would no longer have the element of surprise. So, he went with Pidge and climbed a ladder on the wall.

In front of Marcus, Pidge stopped when she was right beside a computer panel. Opening the panel, she scanned it with her armor's computer, before a holo-computer showed that she had gained access to the control systems. "Gotcha," she said to herself and started getting to work.

"Are you sure that what you're doing will disable the controls he has on the barrier," Marcus whispered to her.

"It's basically an EMP," she told him. "Trust me, it'll work."

"Initializing complete. I'm set for main power up," Haxus told Sendak.

Sendak: _"The Bridge is go."_

"Powering up." Haxus placed his hand on the panel and started powering up the engine.

"And up, and up, and up." Pidge hacked the panel and started bringing the power all the way to its maximum. This would cause an overload in the engine and create the EMP blast she promised. "I would not want to be touching a metal surface when this thing overloads."

Marcus gave her a funny look from behind his visor. They were hanging onto a metal surface.

On the panel, the screen turned red and the alarms started to blare. "Sir, something is wrong," Haxus said.

The energy of the chamber quickly grew and overloaded. Causing a violently explode that sent an electrical shock wave throughout the chamber. Haxus was caught in the blast and was electrocuted. He miraculously survived both was wounded and fell to the floor. Marcus quickly jumped off the wall, while Pidge jumped and grabbed onto Rover. Both humans hovered in the air, avoiding being electrocuted. The Pilot landed with a roll on the catwalk, as Rover brought Pidge gently to his side. The two of them facing Haxus, who was regaining strength.

"You're the one causing all this trouble?" He demanded. "A _child_ and a _nobody_?"

"I'm not a child," Pidge declared, as Marcus pulled out his Wingman revolver and data-knife. "I'm a Paladin of Voltron."

Haxus chuckled menacingly as he stood up. "Let me tell you something, child," he said, drawing a purple energy sword. "I'm a soldier of the Galra Empire. Nothing stops me but triumph or death." Haxus then yelled and rushed at Marcus and Pidge.

Marcus fire a shot, but Haxus jumped out of the way. The Pilot and Pidge then jumped apart from each other as Haxus brought down his sword. The Galra soldier took a swing at Marcus' head, but Marcus ducked, before using his Jump Kit to zoom back and away from another attack.

Pidge then fired her Bayard's grappling hook at Haxus. But Haxus caught the attack with his hand, before wrapping the line around his sword. He then used the Paladin's rope to throw her aside, sending her towards the control panel and sprawling.

Marcus aimed his Wingman at the Haxus' back and started shooting, while advancing towards the Galran. Haxus was able to quickly outrun each 5 remaining bullets, before slashing at Marcus again. Marcus threw away his empty gun and started using his data-knife to block any attacks he could. Those he couldn't block, Marcus dodged.

Haxus changed in an attempt to stab him, but Marcus used the Jump Kit and launched himself over the Galran's speeding body and land right behind him. Pidge watched the fighting, as Haxus turned around and started swinging and slicing his sword at Marcus.

But then, as the Pilot blocked another attack, the Galra energy sword cut right through it, and then his armor. Marcus yelled out and backed away, dropping the destroyed data-knife and placing his hands on the burning cut that Haxus gave him. The sword had cut right through the metal armor, but luckily it didn't get past it. The armor protected him from that attack, but as Marcus looked up and saw Haxus walking towards him, the young man started to think it wasn't going to save him a second time. Backing away until the back of his foot touched Pidge's body.

"Nowhere left to run. Nowhere left to hide, Pilot," Haxus said with a triumphant grin, and ready himself to attack again. Preparing to kill Marcus.

Marcus stood ready with his fist up, prepared to fight to the bitter end. However, he didn't have to, as Rover appeared behind Haxus and distracted him with his beeping.

This gave Marcus the opening to fly over the Galran's body again. While he was distracted by Marcus, Pidge dived between Haxus legs and tangling them in her grappling hook's line. She then pulled hard on the rope and Haxus fell off-balance. Teetering on the edge of the catwalk. As he tried to regain balance, Marcus ran to his sidearm and picked it up. Reloading it quickly, he took aim at Haxus' center of mass.

He fired a single shot, and although it didn't penetrate the armor Haxus was wearing, it did knock him over. However, to Pidge's horror, Haxus quickly reached out and grabbed Rover, who was nearby, to avoid falling.

"Rover!" She cried out for the drone.

Haxus watched as his sword fell all the way down to the ground. But he kept a tight grip on the little drone. However, Rover's lights shined brighter and a sound came from its body. Pidge heard the sound and realized that her robot friend was overloading its own power. And then, with a flicker of its lights, Rover completely deactivated itself in an attempt to sacrifice itself for Pidge.

And with its power gone, the drone started to fall. Taking Haxus down with it.

"No!" Pidge yelled in protest, getting up to rush after Rover. But she was too late to grab the drone and possibly salvage it the from its fate.

"No!" Haxus screamed as both he and drone fell into the depths of the Central Energy Chamber. Meeting their end.

Marcus ran over to Pidge and kneeled down next to her near the edge of the catwalk. Pidge pulled herself up and sat on her knees, unable to believe that the closest thing she had to a friend was really. In a gesture to comfort her, Marcus placed a hand on her shoulder. In response, Katie threw her arms around the Pilot and started to lightly sob. Marcus could only return the hug and rub her back.

But their time to mourn the loss of her companion was rudely interrupted.

Sendak: _"Haxus, report in."_

Marcus released Pidge and stood up. He walked over to the panel and answered after opening his visor. "Haxus is gone, and we're coming for you!"

Sendak: _"You've slowed me down, but this ship is mine! You will turn yourselves over to me immediately!"_

"Not happening, fucker!"

Sendak: _"Well, then, maybe your leader can convince you."_

Pidge took off her helmet to wipe her eyes, before she and Marcus shared confused glances. The two humans' eyes widened when they heard Shiro's voice.

Shiro: _"What do you want?"_

Sendak: _"Your friend wanted to hear from you."_

"Shiro?" Pidge called out.

"Shiro is that you?" Marcus then asked.

Shiro: _"Pidge? Marcus? Don't listen to—"_

The next thing they heard was the sound of electrocution and Shiro's voice screaming out in agony. "No!" Pidge protested, and Sendak did stop.

Sendak: _"You can make it stop. Turn yourselves in. His suffering is in your hands."_

Marcus was silent for a moment, before saying, "You wouldn't have to look far."

 _ **{Balmera}**_

"Is your ship repaired that you may depart our presence?" Rax rudely demanded to know from Hunk, as he and Coran stood with the male Balmeran and Shay.

"Uh... Are you saying that you want us to leave," Hunk asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes."

Okay, good to know. "Well, it's working, but we can't leave without the Crystal," he told him before turning to Coran. "You come up with any ideas how to get it?"

"Actually, yes," Coran said with a confident grin.

* * *

If this was one of those classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons that were still able to be seen, even after all these years, Coran's plan would have been considered a work of military genius. However, the reality was the royal advisor's plan was hardly foolproof.

Coran would sit upon Hunk's shoulders as he wore a Galra Sentry armor and helmet, while they were wrapped in a blanket to hide the fact that they're two people.

The two came stepping out from behind a corner, both grunting and moaning as they're barely able to keep upright. "I can't believe I'm the legs again," Hunk complained, as he walked forward towards the position of two Sentries that were guarding the Crystal needed for the Castle. "I'm the one who took down the guard. I should get to be the head."

"Shh! Legs don't talk," Coran scolded him. Approaching the enemy robots, Hunk stopped in front of them. They were noticeably taller than the actual Sentries. "Oh, hello, gentlemen, shift's over. Boss needs you back at the guard shack."

The two Sentries shared a glance. They looked back at the heroes and one order, _"Verify identification code."_

"Right. I didn't want to have to do this, but I'm going to have to pull rank." Coran used one of the arms to make some arm gestures. "You guys are in big trouble, right? So, hand over those blasters and ID badges."

Still not convinced, the Sentries brandished their weapons. Taking aim at them. _"Verify identification code or be destroyed."_

"Okay, okay. I've got it right... here!" Coran suddenly threw off the disguise, and Hunk blasted the Sentries with his Bayard cannon. Leaving the Sentries no time to react as the plump Paladin littered them with holes.

With the Sentries destroyed, Coran leaped off Hunk's shoulders and approached the massive Crystal. Placing his hands on it, Coran closed his eyes as the Crystal glowed. "What are you doing? We got to hurry!" Hunk said in an Urgent whisper, looking behind for any Sentries.

"I'm not just going to pry this out of here like some Galra monster," Coran retorted. "The Balmera is a sacred being. You have to communicate with it. Let your life forces connect. This is the way it was done in our time."

Hunk looked amazed at him. "Whoa. You really know your Balmeras." Then the Balmera responded to Coran after the Crystal stopped glowing by rumbling and then clearing away some of the dirt and gravel to expose the entirety of the Crystal for him.

This nearly caused it to start toppling over, so Coran rushed in and tried to steady it. But try as he might, the thing was so massive that Coran screamed out in pain when it injured his spine.

He turned his head to Hunk with pain-filled eyes. "... ... ... I think I'm broken."

Hunk sighed. But just as he did, the sound of arming laser blasters were heard behind him. Turning towards the sound, he saw that he and Coran were now completely surrounded by Galra Sentries. All aimed to kill the human and Altean.

As Hunk stood there with a surprised look, Coran struggled to stand up. "Augh... Okay, guys!" Coran squalled, fighting through the agony while trying to pretend he had a higher rank than the Sentries, again. "All right, I hate to do this. Blasters and badges. Come on. Give them up!"

Finally, the pain was too much to keep up the act, and he collapsed. Hunk then nervously raises his arms in surrender.

 _ **{Arus}**_

In the Bridge of the Castle, Sendak looked down at Shiro with a spiteful gaze, but one that held some small amount of respect. "I'm impressed that you managed to escape," he said to the former Titan Pilot.

However, unbeknownst to him was that Marcus was lurking near the entrance of the Bridge. After dealing with Haxus, he told Pidge to go to the Generator room and got the shield down, while he took on Sendak. Pidge wanted to go with him, but the young Pilot told her that getting the shield down was their next priority. He expressed his faith in her ability to succeed and that gave her the motivation to make her way to the generator.

With his Spitfire reloaded with a fresh box-magazine, Marcus waited and listened. "Perhaps it would be worth the trip to your region to see if the rest of your kind have your spirit." Hearing that made Marcus' grip on his weapon tighten and his scowling eyes to intensify. "Of course, they will all end up broken, just like you. Now that we have Voltron, every planet, every race, all share the same fate."

 _ **{Balmera}**_

"Quiznak!" Coran cursed, as he and Hunk were now locked in a cell on the Balmera. Trapped behind particle walls. "I can't believe they saw through our disguise..." He stopped when footsteps were heard approaching them, making them nervous. "Someone's coming!"

However, instead of a Galra Sentry, it was Shay who appeared, carrying a Galra Sentry arm.

"Shay?" Hunk looked puzzled.

She used the Sentry arm on the cell scanner. This unlocked the cell, making the cell's energy barrier to disappear. "Make haste to your pod. The Crystal is prepared for departure," she told them.

"How did you get the Crystal," asked Coran.

"I was assigned to take it to the upper levels, but instead I took it down," she replied. "Soon, they will discover my ruse. Time is short."

She turned to leave, but Hunk stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you helping us? You'll get in trouble," he said, sounding worried for the alien girl.

"Because your words touched my heart. I wish for freedom for all Balmera. Perhaps your Voltron can make it so." Hunk let those words sink into his mind for a moment. His face turned to a look of determination.

The three rushed out of the area and started make their way to the flight pod. However, upon turning a cover and with ship in sight, they were greeted by a large squadron of Galra Sentries and a Battle patrol fighter.

In front of the force was Rax.

"No. Rax, why?" Shay pleaded.

"These two bring only trouble to our family," Rax responded with a glare. "It was the only way to protect you."

Angered by his betrayal, Hunk growled and brought out his Bayard, prepared to fight. "No!" Shay stopped him. "The Balmera will save us." She called on the Balmera for its aid by placing her hand on the ground. Causing the ground under the hand to glow brightly blue.

"Shay, no!" Rax begged and backed away.

The Balmera responded with a sound that was similar to a whale's call. The massive living planet caused rocks from the ceiling of the cave to fall. Crushing many of the Sentries. Seeing their enemies, mostly, out of commission, Hunk, Coran, and Shay turn and ran for the flight pod.

When some of the Sentries recovered, they started shooting at the three. Hunk quickly activated his shield and blocked most of the attack, while Shay and Coran dodged.

However, one of the surviving Sentries aimed at Shay and fired a purple glowing snare. It managed to catch her, wrapping around her body, arms, and legs. Shay yelled and fell onto the ground.

Hunk heard her and turned around. "Shay!"

"Go! Make haste!" She exclaimed to him, as she was dragged towards the Sentries.

"Let her go!"

"No, Hunk!" Coran called while inside the cockpit, able to get Hunk to halt. "We have to go!"

Hunk stood there hesitantly. He knew that he needed to get out of with the Crystal, but couldn't just leave Shay after all she's done for them. However, he saw more Sentries and another patrol jet arriving to stopping them.

Frustrated and wracked with guilt, Hunk leaped into the flight pod. "I'll come back for you, Shay! I promise!" He yelled to her, before the windshield formed. As some of the robots fired laser bolts that bounced off the hull of the vehicle, Shay watched as the flight lifted off the ground.

"If we can't shake these patrols, we might be back here sooner than we want!" Coran exclaimed. He threw the controls forwards and the flight pod rocketed out of the caves and took off into the sky with several Galra fighter jets on their tail.

 _ **{Arus}**_

To get back into the Generator room without being seen, Pidge crawled through the same air vent from before. When she exited out of it, she looked down and saw that there was one more Sentry left. It paced around the room, guarding the room.

However, unbeknownst to her, the Altean Mice inflated the Generator room from above. They see the Sentry and jumped towards it.

Pidge watched with wide eyes as the mice attacked the Sentry. It was actually kind of funny to see, but remembering her mission, she jumped down onto the catwalk.

The mice saw her charging at the Sentry with a battle cry and jumped off, right before Pidge jumped at it. She slammed her Bayard into its face, destroying the robot's head as it fell to the ground with her on top.

Pidge sighed and pulled her weapon out of the Sentry's face. She stood up and smiled at the mice standing on the ground beside her feet. "Thanks, you guys," Pidge said to them, and walked towards the control panel. Seeing it just as she left it before, Katie pressed the button to shut down the particle barrier. When she heard and saw the power of it being depleted, she smirked and rushed out of the room with the mice following behind.

Now she had to get to Marcus.

* * *

Outside, Keith, Allura, and RC watched as the particle barrier started to disappear from the top to the bottom.

"It worked!" Keith exclaimed happily.

"They did it!" Allura said.

" **We must hurry,"** RC said, marching towards the Castle. **"Moore is about to engage Sendak in combat."**

This alarmed Keith and Allura, and the two quickly rushed towards the entrance.

* * *

In the Bridge, Sendak noticed that the barrier was down and quickly tried to resolve the issue. "You seem frightened." Sendak quickly turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Marcus standing there at the entrance, aiming his Spitfire from his hip. "It's over, big man," he said.

"You really think that a small, insignificant creator can stand a chance against me? Sendak demanded, bearing his prosthetic claws and charging them.

Marcus paused for a moment. "Maybe." He opened fire.

The bullets struck Sendak in the body, each hit knocked him back a little. Sendak angry, launched his claws at him. Marcus quickly rolled forward, as dodging Sendak as the Galran's arm brought him forward. Quickly turning, the Pilot started firing again, only for the large alien to block the rounds with his gauntlet. Sendak then sent the arm at him.

Marcus tried to jump away, but the oversized gauntlet grabbed him by the legs. Sendak then swung and slammed Marcus down on the floor. Marcus grunted in pain, as he was pulled up, dropping his LMG.

Sendak brought him high up so that he could glare straight at Marcus' face. "Fine! You want to be the hero, then you're going to die like a hero!" He snarled, as Marcus glared back at him.

"MARCUS!" Allura's screaming voice could be heard coming from the hallway. Sendak turned and saw Keith, Pidge, and the princess entering the room. Keith and Pidge summoned their Bayards when they saw their Pilot friend being held upside down.

The young Pilot was held out to them. "Stand back!" Sendak commanded the three. However, Marcus saw where the energy of his arm was coming from. Quickly pulling out his Wingman from his hip-holster, he took aim at his shoulder and pulled the trigger.

The loud shot echoed in the room, as the high caliber round slammed into the shoulder piece. Destroying and severing the energy chain to his gauntlet, which released Marcus as it fell.

"No!" Sendak yelled in fury, before charging at the Pilot on the ground. However, he was tackled into the side by Shiro, who woke up from all the gunfire and fighting. Sendak kicked him away, before Keith quickly rushed in and started attacking the Galran with swiping attacks. Pidge joined in the battle, along with Marcus.

As the Paladins and Pilot all against the large alien, Allura ran around towards the controls and accessed the computer of the Bridge.

Keith continued using a series of fury swipes at Sendak, trying to push him back. It only stopped when the large Galran grabbed the blade with his bare hand. But then Keith let go of his weapon, and Pidge fired her grappling hook at Sendak's legs. Entangling the legs together, she electrocuted him and caused the Galran not only to yell out in agony, but dropped the Red Paladin's Bayard.

But little did he know was that he was in a trap. Allura ready the computer and looked over her shoulder to give the order. "Marcus, now!"

Marcus quickly ran forward, jump boosted, and kicked Sendak with both feet into the center of the Bridge. Allura then raised up a barrier. Luckily for him, the propulsion of his kick got Marcus out of being captured in the barrier as well.

Seeing that he was trapped, Sendak started punching the barrier. However, he may try, the commander's strength was not enough to break it. With that, so, he gave up. The team had won the battle.

* * *

After transferring Sendak to a Sleeping Pod, Pidge used her Bayard to cut Shiro free from his bonds. As she helped him up, Keith was checking on Lance, who was starting to regain consciousness, though was still very weak.

Within an hour, Hunk and Coran were able to get back to the Castle. They had to use the booster fuel Pidge installed to get away from the Galra. Luckily, they didn't explode.

Once they installed the Crystal into the Castle, Lance was placed into a pod. Hunk and Coran were resting, while Marcus, Pidge, Keith, Shiro, and Allura were in the Sleep Chamber, staring at Lance. "How long will it take," said the Titan Pilot.

"After a day in here, he should be fully healed," Allura answered him with a smile. She then flushed lightly and approached Marcus. "I'm just happy to see that you and Pidge are safe, Marcus. I can't thank you two enough for the brave actions you undertook."

With his helmet off, Marcus chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "That same comes from us," Shiro then said, as he approached Pidge and Marcus. "I can't help but feel that you two were meant to be a part of our team… but I understand if you want to leave."

All eyes were now on Pidge. She looked conflicted for a moment, before closing her eyes. Her eyes opened as a small smile grew on her lips. "Dad used to tell me how close he was with his crew members. They were like family. Now, I understand what he was talking about," she told the team, bringing out a smile from Shiro. "I don't want Marcus to leave, and I wanna with you guys. Let's stop Zarkon for all of our families."

This brought smiles from all personnel in the chamber.

Marcus then placed a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. "We'll find them, Katie. We promise."

Katie "Pidge" Holt smiled fondly at her team. Her family.

* * *

 **AN: And that was Chapter 5 of "Become ONE."**

 **Sorry it took so long. This was definitely one that I had to really tweak and fix in order to make it not only different and follow the canon of the series, but also motivate myself to do.**

 **The moments with Hunk and Coran were pretty weak in my eyes, however, I was able to give Hunk more of a backstory for when he was in the Militia Garrison. This would not only flesh out his character, but it also makes his change to wanting to become a full member of Team Voltron more believable. It would have him work to be braver.**

 **The part I really enjoyed righting about is Pidge's backstory. It was fun to really thing about the locations of the Frontier and it was just where I had a lot of creative liberties, and I was able to once again mix both series together.**

 **Marcus and Pidge are on good terms again, with a new-found respect for each other. I was going to have another fluff moment with Allura and Marcus, but just didn't think the mood was right for it.**

 **That's it for this story. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and if you want me to keep writing this story, then please leave a REVIEW. I would really appreciate it if you do, and please no flaming. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


	6. Criminals and Lions and Titan

**1jesus:** Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

 **LoamyCoffee:** Wow, did it really make you that happy? If it did, then I'm happy you liked it.

 **Guest (ZILLAFAN):** I'm actually thinking of something for when they return to the Frontier.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** His armors not going to be replaced just yet. Maybe later down the story, Allura can help him develop another type of Pilot armor. It's not going to be like the Paladin armor. It'll just be like replacing the armor pieces of Marcus's Pilot suit.

As for King Alfor, I'm not sure about saving him. For one thing, having him alive could benefit the team. But then again, I think that losing the A.I. helped Allura grow more as a character. But that's just me.

But I'll make sure to have him meet Marcus and tease Allura.

 **gabeherndon308:** No that weapon it gone for good. I'll have to think about King Alfor's AI.

 **kival737101:** Yeah, I'm hearing a lot about the ending, even though I haven't seen it. I'll make sure it ends differently.

 **Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1:** I'm glad you like it, and I'll make sure to put more fluff.

 **FrancisVamp0822:** I'm glad to see you like it. And seriously, I've asking you to please be patient with updates. I can't always get to a story without doing the others.

 **Guest:** Request denied.

 **Guest (Dead Man):** Request denied, on all of them!

 **Guest:** Request denied.

* * *

 **Moore's Logbook:**

Sendak's attack on the Castle left us with more repairs to do, but they weren't too bad. One night of work and final repairs were complete.

Allura was…a little upset with me for shooting up her Castle, but was understanding. I tell you, she was amazing. Those damages to the ship were repaired in a pinch and she still had the energy to move onto the next job.

Now that the Castle of Lions was freed from Sendak's control and restored to power, we were all waiting around for Lance to be healed and get out of the pod so we could leave.

* * *

" **Criminals and Lions and Titan"**

Marcus, Allura, and the Paladins were standing with each other, looking at something. That something was Lance in the Sleep Pod. After the healing was down, he was recuperating. But he was still unconscious and wasn't waking up. "I can't tell if he looks healthy or not," said Hunk.

Pidge was also unsure of his status. "I think he's breathing weird."

RC's communicated through the helmet. _**"Negative. All of Paladin Lance's vitals are normal and in healthy conditions."**_

Marcus said, "So he's just sleeping."

Keith was becoming impatient and tried tapping on the pod. "Oh, come on!"

Allura stopped him by swapping his hand away. "Not yet! A few more ticks," she firmly said.

"Ticks?" Marcus looked at her with a puzzled look. "What do you mean," he asked her, hoping she wasn't talking about ticks as in the insect.

"You know, a time-slice," the dark-skinned princess told him with a slight smile

"What, like a second," asked Shiro with his arms crossed.

Now it was Allura's turn to look confused. "What is a... 'second'?"

This prompted Pidge to take out a digital clock and show it to Allura. "Like this." She started the timer, and the clock's hands started counting the seconds.

"It's how we tell time where we come from," Marcus told the princess, to whom she looked at. "Going from seconds to minutes to hours."

Allura looked at the clock again with a raised eyebrow. ""I'm not sure. I think ticks are bigger," she turned to her advisor, who was at work on the console. "Coran, do you have a ticker?"

"Right here, Princess," he told her and pulled out their own clock. It was basically just another digital clock, but it had only four points. The group watched at the device counted the ticks.

"I think ticks are a little slower," Hunk said, watching as a tick took longer than a second.

"I can't tell. We have to start them at the same time," Pidge said. She walked over to Coran and the group followed.

"Okay. Ready, go!" Both Pidge and Coran started the counters together. everyone huddles around to watch. Marcus watched as two seconds went by before a tick pasted.

"So, a tick is two seconds long," he said.

" _ **Affirmative."**_

"Yes! I think we're winning," Hunk cheered.

"Winning what? The intergalactic time-measuring competition?" Keith questioned him. But while the team was huddled together watching the competition, the Sleep Pod opened.

"Yes." Hunk remarked, as Lance awakened. He stumbled out of the device, and went over to the group in a daze.

"You guys having a clock party," he said with a groggy voice.

"Aw, Lance, you just ruined it." Hunk said, getting annoyed that Lance ruined the competition by distracting everyone. However, he quickly looked to see that Lance was out of the pod and looking well. "Uh—Hey, Lance!" He embraced him strongly, as the team was overjoyed to see Lance had recovered.

Lance groaned as he felt his body was still sore, and when Hunk lets him go, he nearly fell down. Hunk was quick and put his arm over his shoulders, with Marcus going over to help. "What happened," Lance asked as he was supported, having no recollection of the events after the Galra bomb drone exploded in the Castle.

"We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat." Allura offered, looking at Lance with a sense of concern. "Are you able to walk?"

"Talking? Eating? Are you asking me out on a date?" Lance joked, much to her annoyance and she looked unimpressed at him. This left the team satisfied that Lance was well enough to exhibit his usual behavior, albeit equally unimpressed by it.

Marcus leaned his head to Allura with a smug look. "I think he's just fine." That got a giggle from the princess.

* * *

The team moved to the Dining Hall, having Lance sit at the table and eat some food goo. The Altean Mice were on the table near him, eating their own food. "He'd be Sendak's prisoner right now, if not for Marcus and Pidge," Allura said to the group, placing a hand on Marcus's shoulder when she praised him.

Marcus scratched the back of his head sheepishly with a blush. "Heh, well, we don't deserve all the credit," he said gaining control of himself and looking to Hunk and Coran. "You wouldn't have survived the explosion if Hunk and Coran hadn't gotten a new Crystal."

"Wow. Thanks, everybody," Lance said with genuine gratitude. But then he looked to Keith and went back to his old habits again. "Sounds like the mice did more than you, though."

"I helped fight off Sendak!" Keith exclaimed defensively.

"Yeah, apparently Marcus was the one being the badass, though."

Keith appeared indignant and personally offended. "We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms, you ass!"

Lance thought for a short moment. "Nope. Don't remember, didn't happen," he said dismissively, getting a pissed-off look from Keith. "So, what happened to Sendak?"

As the conversation got serious on the topic of the Galra commander, Allura informed him, "He's frozen in a cryo-pod. We're keeping him here in the Castle."

"Are you sure that's a good idea," Marcus asked her with his arms crossed. After their fight with the alien, the Pilot wasn't too keen on having Sendak on board the Castleship. "He's too dangerous."

"Which is why we're not setting him free anytime so. Besides, we might be able to get some information about Zarkon from him," Allura explained to the wary Pilot.

Marcus sighed in defeat, knowing that she was right. "So, what's the plan now," asked Lance, looking at Allura.

"We have to get back to the Balmera and save Shay and her people," Hunk proclaimed in a very rare, if ever seen, serious attitude.

"Wow! You are really hung up on this lady," Lance said in a teasing manner, as the big mouse started eating from his plate.

"No, it's not like that," Hunk said before scowling at the things he's seen and heard on the Balmera. "Look, guys, when you see how Zarkon has treated these people and destroyed their home—They've been under his thumb for so long, they don't even know what it is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. _This_ is what being a Paladin of Voltron is all about. It's time to man up."

Hearing that last part made Pidge frown.

"Then let's get moving," Marcus said, ready to get off the planet and kick ass. "Time to go defend the universe."

The team began to leave the dining hall, with Lance about to get up from his chair to follow. However, Pidge got out her chair and stopped them. "Wait, I have something to say first," she said, getting the team to halt and look at her. "I need to come clean and... I'm afraid this may change the way you all think about me. Just so there are no secrets between us anymore, I can't 'man up'. ... I'm a girl. I-I mean, I can 'man up' because that's just a figure of speech. I don't have to actually be a man to 'man up.' I just have to be tough. But what I'm saying—" Marcus had to hold in his laugher when he saw Lance stare at Pidge with a face of sheer, flabbergasted disbelief.

"Huh—Eh—Wha—?! You're a _girl!?_ _HOW!?_ " Lance exclaimed loudly, startling Pidge.

" _ **My A.I.'s facial recognition system has conferred that Pidge's true identity is Katie Holt, daughter of MIA Commander Samuel Holt."**_

Marcus nodded with a bit of a sheepish look. "Yeah, it kinda took RC telling me to figure it out," he said, scratching behind his ear.

"I've known for some time, but I'm glad you've shared it with everyone," Allura said with a smile.

"Yeah, I figured," said Hunk, smiling.

"Oh, yeah, me too," Keith said, also smiling.

"Wait, w-we were supposed to think you were a _boy?_ " Coran asked, leaning over Allura's shoulder with a hand on it.

"Pidge, owning who you are is going to make you a better Paladin." Shiro said to Pidge with a gentle voice.

And with that, Pidge sighed in relief. Having accepted her true self and hearing what Shiro said put her mind at ease. "It's good to get that off my chest. Now, let's launch this Castleship!"

Lance remained behind, still perplexed by Pidge's reveal. He then shook his head in disbelief. "Wait, _what_? Pidge is a _girl_ and the Castle is a _ship_? Damn. How long have I been out?"

* * *

When the team arrived at the Bridge, Allura walked over to the center and stood on the platform. This caused a faint light to shine down on her from above. Holographic screens appeared around her, as the ship started to power up.

Five seats raised up from the floor. Each one for a Paladin to sit in. As the five went over and sat down in their seats, and a holographic screen showed up in front of them, Marcus looked around to see where he could sit down. Allura saw this and when he looked her, she looked sheepish.

So, there was nowhere for him to sit down. Great.

Two small pillars raised up from the floor, and Allura placed her hands on them. "Activate interlock," she ordered Coran.

"Dynotherms connected," said Coran, standing at his station at a holographic computer in the front. Outside, the blue lights of the Castle started to glow.

Allura watched the holographic monitor in front of her. "Mega-thrusters are go."

"We are ready to depart Planet Arus on your mark, Princess."

Marcus stood near the princess as the window screens changed to show the outside. "Firing main engines for launch." The Castleship shook gently, and Marcus braced himself for lift off.

As the powerful Castleship started to launch from Arus, it dislodged itself from the rocky cliffs encasing it. Once freed, it takes off into the sky as a beautiful shining light, which was seen by the Arusians. The people that befriended the heroes happily watched as Team Voltron left.

Once they left the atmosphere, it headed towards the team's next mission; to save the people of the Balmera.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Zarkon's Central Command, things were becoming divisive for the empire. As the tyrant sat in his thrown with Hagger as his side, a Galran commander named Prorok kneeled before Zarkon. "Sire, if capturing Voltron is the Empire's number-one priority, then I suggest we begin moving the main fleet toward its last known location posthaste," he suggested with his head down.

However, Haggar was quick to disagree. "Lord, after many years, the Komar Experiment is finally ready," she said to him. "Soon, we could have more Quintessence at our fingertips than ever imagined. We must test it before moving the fleet."

Prorok stood and argued, "We don't have time for any more of your magic. We must move our ships now."

"Voltron is the most powerful weapon ever created. His puny ships will never be up to the task. We must be well prepared for our next encounter."

 _SLAM!_

The Emperor slammed his hands on the armrests of his throne, silencing both of them. It seemed to have startled Prorok, and he immediately kneeled.

"I know better than anyone the power of Voltron. It's the same one that now powers the Titan. Haggar has my trust. We will perform her test," he said to them much to commander's frustration. But he saluted to the King, before turning and leaving.

"My lord, do you believe this Titan, and the human that pilots it to be a danger to us," Haggar asked the mighty Galran king.

"No, but it's clear that it will become a nuance in our efforts to capture Voltron," he said, narrowing his eyes. "However, there was something about that Titan. Something…familiar."

* * *

As the Castle of Lions traveled to the Balmera, Marcus was standing with the Paladins. His helmet was off and attached to his belt because there was no need for him to keep it on when out of danger.

As he stood with the others, with Pidge sitting on the steps working on her computer, Hunk was impatiently pacing about the Bridge. "Okay. So, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and like, start blasting them all to hell? Or do we land and have some... kind of public address system, like, 'Attention, Galras. This is Voltron. Turn yourselves in!'" Hunk paused and looked around. "No. Blasting them all to hell, right?"

"Hunk, calm down." Keith instructed the big man, making a calm down gesture with his hands. "And yes, we blast them."

"Eh, it's our first big rescue mission. He's excited," Shiro suggested with a slight smirk.

But Marcus crossed his arms and smirk. "Oh, he's excited alright," he teased, as Lance also smirked at Hunk as well.

Pidge turned her head upside down to look at Hunk with her own smirk. "Excited to see his new _girl-friend~_ "

Hunk gasped in defense and started to immediately deny the accusations. "She's not my girlfriend! She's just a rock that I met, and I admire very much," he said, turn his head away a little.

Oh yeah, he was so into her.

Their jesting was abruptly interrupted by the sound of an abnormal alarm.

Marcus and Shiro turned to Allura. "What is it? Are we being attacked?" asked the Black Paladin.

"No, it seems to be a distress beacon," she said, looking at her holographic computer as it displayed a map, with a red dot on a location. "It's coming from a nearby moon. Apparently, a ship has lost power."

"I wonder who it is," Pidge said with a hand on her chin.

"Whoever it is will have to wait," Hunk immediately argued. "Shay has first priority. We can check back on them when we're done."

"You can't seriously suggest we leave them without help," Marcus said.

"Marcus is right," Allura said, happy to see that he was against leaving the people. "The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need." This frustrated Hunk, but seeing that he wasn't going to win the argument, he didn't press the issue. He just pouted and crossed his arms.

"Wow! This is so cool. It's like we're space cops on space patrol," Lance said with a smirk.

What?

"Coran, do we have a siren we can turn on?"

"Uh, no, but we could record you making a siren noise and broadcast that to them," Coran said to the young man.

"Perfect!" Lance exclaimed, before putting his hands to his mouth and was about to make a siren sound for Coran, but then Marcus placed his hand over his mouth.

"No, not doing that."

It didn't take them long to reach the moon and found the ship that was sending out the beacon. The people who owned the ship were sitting near it. As she slowed the ship down, Allura turned on the loudspeaker and spoke into it. "Attention, damaged craft, this is Princess Allura. We are coming to assist you."

The ship then turned on its backed and started to land on the surface of the moon.

Preparing to exit the ship with everyone else, Marcus puts on his helmet and grabbed the V-47 Flatline from his back. "RC, be ready to meet us outside," he ordered the Titan. "But don't do anything to spook them.

" _ **Copy that, Pilot."**_

Marcus looked to Allura and she nodded in approval. At first, she didn't want the Titan to come, as she would've likely scared the people in need. However, it's better to have RC there with them. Allura turned to Coran. "Stay aboard and try to get as many of our systems clear of that Galra crystal energy as you can. We'll see who hailed us."

"Yes, Princess." Coran nodded.

* * *

Inside of a pod that detached from the Castleship, the Pilot, Paladins, and the Princess descended down to the surface.

RC flew out of the shuttle hangar and landed beside the pod. As RC stood to her full height, she saw that the two alien beings, a male and female of different species, and their little robot were frightened at the sight of her. Why could they've been scared of her?

The doors of the pod opened, and the team stepped out to greet the people in need.

The male alien grinned at the sight of help. "You don't know how glad are to see some friendly faces," he said, as the team and Titan walked over to them. "Most folks don't want to get tangled up with anyone who's on the run from the Galra."

"So, you guys are fighting the Galra," Marcus asked the alien.

"Well, I don't think Zarkon is exactly quaking in his boots at the three of us, but we do what we can," he said, noting that the Pilot was dressed differently. Not to mention aimed. "I'm Rolo. This is Nyma, and our cyber-unit, Beezer."

"Hi," said Nyma. Lance was instantly struck by her beauty. Sighing and blushing with an idiotic smile.

Beezer beeped. Pidge gasped in amazement by the high-tech appearance of the robot, despite a giant robot was standing behind her.

Before anyone knew it, Lance and Pidge darted over to them. As Lance kissed Nyma's hand, Pidge inspected Beezer. "Cool robot!"

"Hi! Name's Lance." Lance introduced himself, with some strange sparkling effect going on around his head.

Marcus sighed. "Good grief."

"Was your ship damaged in a fight?" Shiro asked Rolo.

"Yeah, we've really been through it with the Galra. Parts are hard to come by. Luckily, we were able to limp to this moon about a week ago." Marcus looked at the ship. It did look beat up, with holes in the outer hull, but those would be easy to pact up. However, that was if you had the parts. However, it was likely that it was hit in a part that rendered it unable to fly. "If you didn't pick up our distress signal, I didn—"

"We're happy to help," Allura said, stepping forward. Excited to formally introduce herself. "I am Princess Allura of Altea, and from now on, you won't be alone fighting the Galra. You'll have the Paladins of Voltron by your side." She gestured to Shiro, Hunk, and Keith.

Marcus cleared his throat.

"Ah—as while as our allies, Titan Pilot Marcus Moore and his Titan RC-2049." Allura said, gesturing to basically the third wheels of the team. She's really got to figure out how to include them in future introductions.

But this didn't seem to inspire much hope and confidence in Rolo. Who compared the contrasting serious behavior of Shiro, Keith, Hunk, Marcus and RC…with Lance and Pidge, who are goofing off with Nyma and Beezer.

"…Okay," he said, tapping his finger on his arm with an unimpressed look. Appearing more underwhelmed.

"I don't think they've heard of us," Shiro stated.

Keith looked unimpressed and tilted his head, with his arms crossed. "It _has_ been ten thousand years."

"Voltron? Five robot Lions that combine into this big robot... guy?" Lance said, trying to explain what Voltron was, but it came off as more awkward than informative with all the gestures he was making.

"Sounds impressive," Rolo said, but it was clear that he didn't quite understand. "I'd love to see it. Or—Or him. Them."

"Why don't we just get to work on your ship?" Hunk questioned him, getting really impatient with all the small talk. "I'm sure we all have places to be."

Rolo smiled and closed his eyes. "Sure." He turned and went to his spacecraft, opening a hatch to show them the inside of it. "Pretty much our whole flaxum assembly is shot. I don't know what kind of extra parts you carry in this rig of yours. I've never seen anything quite like it."

"I'm sure we can get you back up and running," Allura said with a smile. Behind her, Lance continued trying to show off by flexing his muscles and flirting with Nyma, who was entertained by him. Marcus punched him in the shoulder so he would focus. "Give Hunk a list of what you need. Coran can show you where to find it."

"Okay," Hunk mumbled.

"We'll go with you. Don't want you to have to carry all that yourself. Come on, guys," Rolo said, and started walking toward the Castle of Lions.

However, Hunk stopped him by placing his hand on Rolo's chest. "Uh, I don't think so," Hunk stated firmly, crossing his arms. "You can just wait out here."

"Hunk, don't be rude," Allura scolded him.

"Yeah, mind your manners. There are ladies present." Lance said, gesturing to Allura, but more specially Nyma. He clicked his tongue and pointed at her. "Hey."

Marcus again punched him.

RC took a step forward. Her massive foot shook the ground, startling Hunk and Rolo. **"Paladin Hunk is taking the right course of action,"** the Titan said, looking down at the team and the stranded aliens. **"The last time we had let down our defenses, the enemy was able to deliver a bomb into the Castle. Critically injuring Paladin Lance and gaining control of the Caste."**

"Oh, yeah..."Lance said, looking at the ground.

Marcus took a step forward. "I'm gonna have to side with RC. Sorry, but we have to be cautious."

"Hey, I don't take it personal," he said with a smile. Rolo walked over to Beezer, who printed out the list of papers needed on a piece of paper. "That's how it is out here. You've got to look out for your own." Rolo grabbed it and handed it to Hunk. Pidge moved to Beezer and poked him, which startled the robot. "You're doing a good job, big man."

Yellow Paladin was impassively grateful for the praise. "Yeah. Thank." He said, taking the paper and looking at it.

* * *

As they waited for Hunk to find parts, RC used her ability to switch to other Titan loadouts to take on the abilities of a Scorch Titan. From her hand, she shot out a controlled flame onto a camp fire that was set up. Keeping them all warm as the air turned cold.

She placed her Chaingun down on the ground, and Marcus used it to sit down on the ground and leaned his back against it. With his helmet off, he listened to Rolo as he told his story, along with Keith, who was sitting on a nearby crate, and Shiro and Allura, who were standing. All with their helmets off.

In the background, Pidge was continuing to be distracted by Beezer, and Lance was talking with Nyma away from them.

"My planet was destroyed by the Galra and I was taken captive. I managed to escape, but not before I lost something," Rolo said, sitting on a box. To show what he lost, he rolled up his left pant leg, showing them that he had a prosthetic leg. He gave it a gentle bang.

"I know exactly how that feels," Shiro said, looking at his own prosthetic.

The conversation was interrupted by Hunk, who dragged a hovercart full of parts over. "Well, I hope there are some parts in here that'll fit," he grunted and stopped pulling. He took off his helmet, and saw that Rolo didn't respond. "... You know, to get your ship moving?"

"Great! Thanks," Rolo said, but was in no rush to start repairing the ship.

"So, what can you tell us about Zarkon's forces," Allura asked, sitting down on the Chaingun near Marcus. Behind them, Pidge laughed out loud as she rode around on Beezer. "Where are they concentrated?"

"Well, his Command Ship sits right in the center of the Empire," Rolo informed them, as Pidge continued to have fun. "He mostly calls the shots from there and has his minions do the work, depending on who's closest. This is the territory of a real nasty bugger named Sendak."

"Oh, we've met," Keith said with his arms crossed.

"What about this Command Ship," Marcus asked, leaning forward a little. "How far are we from the center?"

"We're way out on the fringes," said Rolo.

Disgruntled, Hunk interrupted the conversation again and walked over to them. "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I think you guys are kind of keeping Rolo from working," he said, before turning to Rolo. "It's just that we're in a hurry. A hero named Shay saved my life, and I swore I would return to do the same for her and her people. You understand."

"Sure. Sorry." Rolo stood up and placed a hand on Hunk's shoulder, then walked over to the hovercart to inspect the parts.

As he was doing that, Shiro walked over to Hunk and whispered quietly, "Hunk, we're going to get going soon, but I think Rolo might have some information that could be helpful to us."

"Not for nothin' but I don't trust this guy as far as I can throw him," Hunk explained. "I think we ought to leave him with the box parts and just say, 'Adiós, amigo—'"

"Hey, bud!" Rolo called to Hunk, appearing to be unaware of their conversation. "Sorry, but do you think you could hunt down a length of thermal pipe about yay long," he asked, gesturing the specific length of the pipe.

Hunk groaned. "On the way." The Yellow Paladin reluctantly set off to find it.

Marcus grabbed his helmet and Flatline before standing up. "So, are there more freedom fighters," he asked Rolo, approaching him with Shiro, Keith, and Allura. "Any kind of organized resistance to the Galra?"

"Only folks who haven't been colonized yet, or the lucky few, like us, who managed to escape somehow."

"Well, we're going to change all that," Keith stated.

"That's good to hear, but I've got to warn you, it's pretty bad out there. You don't know what you're up against." Rolo turned back to the crate.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lance was bragging to Nyma as she sat on a crate. "I mean, there are only five of us in the entire universe, so... I guess you could say it's kind of a big deal."

"I don't understand. The Lions are ships? Are they, like, flying statues that you ride on," she asked.

"No, no, no. They're magic, but also super scientific and advanced. And they fly crazy fast and have all these incredible weapons. Really, the entire Castle is just insane! I wish you could see it."

"Yes, it's too bad we're not allowed inside. I would love a tour from one of the knights. But I guess the big one's is in charge, huh?" She asked, looking towards Hunk as he carried a crate. "You have to obey his orders?"

"Who, Hunk?" Lance asked and scoffed. "Pfft, I don't have to listen to him!" Lance grabbed Nyma's hand and led her towards the ship, making her giggle.

* * *

A few minutes later, Marcus was on top of the damaged ship and repairing the second to last hole. Welding a single panel over it, after repairing the insides. One thing that Captain Quintain always trained him on was how to repair and fix things, like Titans. So that if there was ever a moment that his Titan or Jump Kit was damaged, he'd find a way to get it back in working condition.

" **Moore, be advised,"** said RC from down on the ground. **"The Blue Lion's taking off!"**

Marcus pulled off his helmet with his eyes wide and angry. "WHAT!" He yelled and looked at the Castleship. Sure enough, the Blue Lion came flying out of it and went off into space.

Down on the ground, Hunk also saw it and lifted up his goggles. "Oh, Lance," he said, upset that he was going off to who knows where.

Marcus used his Jump Kit to jump down to the ground, ready to go after Lance and give him a beating. However, he was stopped by Rolo. "Ah, let them have their fun," he said to put him at ease, as well as Hunk. "Thanks to you two, this thing is just about ready, so we're going to be on our way soon." As he said that part, he looked at the old part Hunk had just replaced. "Too many light years on that guy, I guess."

As Rolo went back to work on his ship, Hunk and Marcus were becoming suspicious about the look of the part held in the big one's hand.

"Keep an eye on him," Marcus softly to Hunk, glancing at Rolo.

Hunk nodded. Marcus activated the Jump Kit and landed on the top of the ship. He spotted the last hole, put back on his helmet, and started working on it.

"How's everything going?" Marcus nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone behind him. He turned around and saw it was Allura. Seeing that she'd startled him, she apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Marcus took off his helmet and smiled at her. "It's fine. I've just got the last hole patched up," he said, standing up.

"That's great." She beamed. Her smile then turned to concern. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean?" He then blushed when the beautiful princess walked up to him and placed a hand on the right side of his head. That was where his head hit the ground when he was fighting Sandax. She also reached and stroked the cut in his chest armor made by Haxus.

"You took a bad blow to the head during your fight with Sandax. I was worried if you should spend time in the cryo pod."

Marcus looked touched by her worry, but smiled and gently grabbed her hand on his head. "I'm fine. It's just one hit," said he said, smiling with determination. "Don't worry, Allura. I'm not going anywhere."

Allura smiled. That really put her at ease. To know that the Pilot was going to stay with them to fight Zarkon made her happy. They stayed there for a moment, staring at each other continuously. Trapped in their own little world. **"Pilot?"** RC snapped the two of them out of it. Looking to RC, they saw her, Shiro and Keith staring at them. The Paladins were smirking teasingly and knowingly at them, as RC asked, **"Are you attempting to interact in a romantic interaction with the Princess?"**

That got the two to form big blushes on their faces as they looked shocked at the Titan. They then looked at each, as saw how close they were, with Marcus still holding her hand, and Allura still had a hand on the Pilot's chest. They quickly pulled away from each other. "We're not!" Allura yelled in total embarrassment.

"Y-Y-Yeah," Marcus said with a bright blush and waved his hands.

But while RC seemed confused, Shiro and Keith continued to have faces that looked like they knew what was going on and shared a glance. Oh yeah, they knew something.

However, to their surprise, Rolo suddenly exited the engine of his ship and closed it. "I think this thing is just about ready for a test flight," he said "Beezer, come co-pilot for me." The robot left Pidge in an instant and entered the ship with Rolo. "Be back in a tick."

When the door closed, everyone looked in confusion. What was up with them? As the ship started to shake, and its thrusters turned on, Marcus quickly grabbed Allura and jumped off the roof of the ship. Using the Jump Kit to land safely on the ground.

They let go of each other and watched as the ship left the moon. Leaving Marcus, Allura and her Paladins watch in confusion as the spacecraft took off with no issues at all.

"That was unusual," Marcus said.

" **That's because Rolo was lying,"** RC said. That made the heroes look at her in shock.

"I knew it!" Hunk yelled, his arms crossed and his expression turning sour.

"Why would they lie to us," Marcus said, before trying to figure out what was going on. That ship shouldn't have been able to fly so well. It would have been sluggish and uneven in flight. He turned towards where the ship went off towards. It's obvious that he was trying to get away from them and get to somewhere.

But that was same direction that Lance flew off towards.

Marcus's eyes widened. "Oh no…"

"What?" Shiro asked. Marcus didn't answer and put on his helmet.

"Lance? Lance!? Where are you?" Marcus called the Blue Paladin. The other Paladins put on their helmets to listen for Lance. "Lance pick up the goddamn helmet!"

The transmission came through, but he was confused to see Lance was laying on the ground with his arms over his head. _"Guys? Hello? Little help?"_

Good, at least he was still alive. "Lance? Lance! Are you all right? What's going on?"

 _"Well, I'm kind of chained to a... a tree."_

"I knew it!" Hunk yelled again.

"Did Nyma do that," Marcus asked, with a raised eyebrow. If that was the case, then she really played Lance as a fool. But then again, this was Lance they were talking about. "Listen, where's the Blue Lion?"

" _Well, I think Nyma and Rolo just stole him."_

Hunk yelled again with his pitch raising. "I KNEW IT!"

"Where are they?" Shiro demanded.

Lance raised an eyebrow. _"Uh... space?"_

" **Pilot, I'm tracking the ship. We can go on ahead and try to stop them until back up comes,"** RC said, before opening up.

"We'll get to our Lions and catch up," Shiro said. Marcus nodded and jumped inside his Titan. Then the Titan closed, and controls were transferred to him, Marcus crouched down and leaped high off the ground. He activated thrusters and flew after Rolo and his crew.

"Uh, I never trusted those guys, right from the beginning!" Hunk yelled.

* * *

"I mean, y'know, at first, it was just like a feeling in my gut, you know? But when I was replacing that thermal pipe, the pipe was cracked, but none of the hardware around it was damaged." Hunk ranted on as the Paladins head to their Lions. After riding down the zip lines, they hopped into their speeders.

"Okay, we get it!" Keith said in his speeder, rolling his eyes.

"I mean, if the thermal pipe is cracked, then, obviously, hello, the entire assembly should be totally roasted."

"Okay! We get it." But it wasn't just Keith that was annoyed with Hunk's rambling. The other Paladins and Marcus were getting irritated.

"We should've had to replace the entire undercarriage of that reactor. So, right then, I was, like, positive. Foul play."

Inside RC, Marcus hit his head back against the seat and yelled into the communicator. "Hunk! For the love of God! Shut the fuck up, or I'll turn back around and shove my fist down your fat throat!"

* * *

After successfully stealing one of the Lions of Voltron, and picking up Nyma after she bounded Lance to a Lance with a pair of handcuffs, Rolo made contact with the Galra commander Prorok. "Commander Prorok, my name is Rolo. I understand you're offering a reward to anyone helping capture the Voltron Lions," he said with his arms crossed to the Galran on his screen.

" _That's correct. Do you know where they are?"_ Asked Prorok.

"I know where the blue one is. It's in my ship."

 _"Excellent. Bring it to me and you'll have your reward immediately."_

"Just a tick. You see, my friends and I have a bit of a checkered past," Rolo explained, hoping that this would go well. "Some stolen merchandise from the Galra Empire may have fallen into our possession without us knowing about it."

 _"Well, I'm sure that a full pardon can be arranged for the brave souls who bring Emperor Zarkon a Voltron Lion. Is that all?"_

"We'll take the reward, too," Nyma said, standing next to Rolo with a hand on his chair.

 _"Of course."_

With that affirmance, Rolo smirked. "All right. We're on our way," he said and ended the transmission. Rolo stretched his arms and relaxed by placing his hands behind his head and leaned back. Pleased with how well the heist went. "I almost feel sorry for those Voltron folks. Seemed like a nice bunch."

Nyma was not so empathetic. "If you're feeling guilty, you can turn yourself in," she said, before turning and "Stealing from Zarkon carries a life sentence."

Rolo thought about it for a moment, and was fearful of the thought of being a prisoner of the Galra. "They don't seem... that nice."

But it was too early to celebrate. Rolo's alarms started blaring and he turned on the monitor to see what it was. To their surprise, it was the Titan RC. And she was closing in fast.

"No way."

Marcus saw the ship and locked onto it. Pulling the Chaingun off RC's back, he aimed and opened fire.

The criminal aliens braced them as bullets started hitting the back of their ship. Rolo pushed a button, making a steering wheel pop out in front of him. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nyma questioned him, ducking her head a little as a few tracers flew pass the windshield. "There's no way we can outrun that thing."

"Not in the open," Rolo said, as he started to fly the ship to safety. "Good thing the Zorlar asteroid belt is right up here. I know that like the back of my hand."

Marcus continued shooting at the ship, and was about to launch tracking missiles at it. But then Rolo's nimble flying led him going down and he flew straight into the asteroid belt. Marcus's eyes widened, and he came to a complete stop, just outside of the asteroid belt. He saw the ship, and fired at it, only for the space rocks to block the bullets.

Behind him the other Lions arrived.

"We'll never get through that asteroid field!" Pidge exclaimed in frustration.

"Maybe I can just bust through!" Hunk said, and had the Yellow Lion charge forward. Slamming the Yellow Lion into an asteroid, but this caused it to ricochet off another, and created a dangerous chain reaction of asteroids bumping into each other. "Nope. That was wrong. That was a bad idea."

Marcus turned to the Black Lion. "It's possible that they only know I'm after them."

Shiro nodded. "Keith, you and Marcus are the only ones who could possibly fly through this. We need you, buddy. Marcus will flush them out, and then you'll clip their wings from underneath them."

"You got it." Keith smirked. "Ready, buddy?"

Marcus grinned behind his helmet. "Ready when you are," he said, and rushed straight into the asteroid belt. Keith went down and turned into the field, while the other three Lions went around.

With the speed RC was granted from the quintessence, and her small and yet nimble chaste, Marcus navigated the asteroid field easily in his pursuit. Jumping off of and ricocheting off of the asteroids.

He landed on one large rock and started running it at full speed, with the aid of the thrusters. Above him and the Titan, an even large asteroid was coming closer to them. **"Pilot, I've located the ship,"** RC said, pulling up an arrow and pointed to the left. He looked to the left and saw the ship. Marcus nodded and laughed off the asteroid, before the other asteroid could come crashing. The Titan was kicked into full gear and flew above them.

Rolo's computer showed the Titan right behind them. "No way. Get on the blasters. Take him down!"

"Copy," Nyma said and Beezer beeped.

With no asteroids to get in his way, Marcus looked down. He could see Keith's Red Lion keeping pace with him below him. Good, they'll still have the element of surprise.

" **Enemy fire income!"** Marcus looked up with wide eyes, and saw two gun turrets on the back of the ship that began shooting at him. He quickly controlled RC to fly around, dodging the laser blasters. Marcus used the Vortex Shield to block some of the attack, before dropping it and fired his Chaingun in retaliation.

Rolo was quick to dodge the bursts of bullets that were fired at him. "This kid can flat-out fly," he said with a smirk.

Marcus flew closer to the ship, using the smaller asteroids as cover from the laser blasters. Each time he moved from cover, he fired the Chaingun. Marcus reloaded the gun and moved out of cover, and rocketed towards the ship.

"He's gaining on you!" Nyma exclaimed.

In a last-ditch attempt to get the Titan off their tail, Rolo tried tricking Marcus into crashing into an asteroid—after making a hard-left turn. Marcus gasped in shock before grunting as he forced himself to stop. Aiming the legs of the Titan at the asteroid, RC landed sideways on the rock. He kicked off upwards at full speed, going over the asteroid.

Arming the Multi-Target Missile System, and locking onto the gun turrets, Marcus fired. Sending the missiles flying.

The laser continued to fire, as Nyma and Beezer tried to take them out. However, as they were able to destroy most of them, one got through. Slamming into the right laser blaster in an explosion that destroyed the other one too.

"Blasters are offline!" Nyma yelled. They were now defenseless.

"We've got to get out of here!" Rolo exclaimed, and tried to flee, until…

 _SLICE!_

Keith came rocketing up from underneath with Red Lion's jaw blade, cutting the right-side engine upwards. This destroyed the engine in a massive explosion that knocked the criminal's ship off balance and out of the asteroid belt.

Marcus and Keith chased after the ship. The Red Lion flew behind the ship, and used its claws to grab onto the side of the ship. The Titan flew in front of the ship, and placed her hands on the front of it.

Using the Red Lion's boosters on its hindlegs, and the Titan's back thrusters. Marcus and Keith grunted as they tried to stabilize the damaged ship before it crashes into a nearby planet. Slowing it down, until it came to a stop.

With the criminals brought to a standstill, Marcus pushed away from the ship and flowed a few feet back from it. He crossed RC's arms as the other Lions arrived. "Are you giving up, or are we going to have to _really_ break your ship," the Pilot asked.

Rolo and his crew lamented their failure.

"Yeah! Haha!" Keith chuckle with pride and accomplishment. "Hey, Lance, I got your Lion back."

" _Thank you, Keith. Now, can you come and unchain me?"_

But Keith wasn't done and started teasing the Blue Paladin. "What's that? I, uh... Y-You're cutting out. I can't—I can't hear you."

Marcus chuckled when he heard Lance's response. _"Oh, come on! I thought we bonded. Keith? Buddy? My man?"_

* * *

After the team finally recovered Lance from his predicament and returned the criminal crew to the alien moon, they stood before them as they sat on boxes, with their broken ship.

"Since your ship _really_ doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue," Keith told them.

"Thanks... for sparing our lives," Rolo said, looking down in shame.

"Just don't go pulling another trick like this again," Marcus said, and to make sure his point was taken seriously, the Pilot had his Flatline pointed at them.

"Now that these guys are dealt with, let's get to the Balmera and save Shay and her family," Hunk said.

"You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon," Rolo said, looking down and getting everyone's attention. "It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today."

The team looks considerate, but didn't respond and left. Returning to the Castle of Lions and departing for the Balmera.

* * *

For the Galra Empire, this was a good day. Haggar's experiment for extracting Quintessence in unfathomable quantities was a complete success. By having Zarkon's Command Ship orbits outside the atmosphere of a planet, and as she stood on a floating platform powered by Galra Crystals, Haggar stands in the center of the Druids of the Four Directions and commanded the ritual. With the combination of the massive Command Ship's technology and her dark magic, the entire planet was sapped of all its Quintessence in a matter of moments, leaving it barren and uninhabitable, its creatures left to fates unknown.

But it did not matter to her, nor Zarkon. The king was most pleased with her results. The Empire was now able to advance throughout the universe more efficiently than before with no need to mine and colonize planets.

Most importantly, with so much power in his hands, he was put all his efforts and focus into capturing Voltron.

And right now, deep in the Galra Empire, Haggar was preparing for her next attack on Voltron. Walking up to a table with her Druids around her, she looked at a small reptilian creature that was on the table. She pulled out a canister of quintessence. "All this Quintessence will turn you into the strongest, most horrifying fighter ever created. One that even Voltron will not be able to defeat."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **And that was Chapter 6 of "Become ONE."**

 **This one wasn't as fun to do as I thought it would be, but at least it's over with. Now we could get to the Balmara and get back to fighting! But at least I was able to squeeze in some Marcus/Allura. I still want them to develop their relationship, but I just couldn't help it.**

 **Sorry if I keep changing how the team talks to each other through their communicators.**

 **I've been getting a lot of requests for a lot of stories, and I've to be honest, I really don't plan to, or even want to do those stories. Seriously, I don't even want to count all the times I've been requested to do some Dragon Ball, Akame Ga Kill, Witcher and RWBY, or any other DC comics stories or crossovers?**

 **However, there's one series that I've been wanting to do, but no one has even mentioned it. And that's** _ **Bleach.**_

 **At first, I was going to do a** _ **Regular Show**_ **/** _ **Bleach**_ **crossover, however, I've decided to scrap the idea.**

 **One thing I could do is do what I've done with "The Red Dragon Samurai" and "Heroes of Tomorrow": by swapping out the main character with an OC. However, the thing that made those stories work was because those stories are crossovers. And I can't really think of any series to crossover with** _ **Bleach**_ **.**

 **What about you guys? What do you think I should do for a** _ **Bleach**_ **male OC based story? Please tell me in a Review or PM if you've got an idea.**

 **Thank you very much for reading. "Become ONE" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


	7. Battle of the Balmera—Part 1

**1jesus:** Thank you.

 **Haro654:** I could, but don't worry. I've got an idea for a _Bleach_ story.

 **Linkonpark100:** Tell me about it. At first it sounded like a good idea, but then I decided that it wasn't going to work.

 **SulliMike23:** That's okay. I've got an idea for the series.

 **LoamyCoffee:** Thanks, and I've got an idea for _Bleach_.

 **Guest (Dead-Man):** Yeah, I found out that that wasn't going to work. So, I dropped it.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Thanks, and I hope you like the chapter. Also, for _Bleach,_ I've got something special for it.

 **Serpentdragon:** Thanks. Yeah, I'm not the best with grammar and I hope that with each story I'll get better. I'm glad that you find Marcus to fit well in the story. Even though the story is about him and his adventure with the Paladins, I didn't want him to take up too much of the spotlight. And I'll likely deviate more from the canon in the later chapters.

 **kival737101:** I know. I've just haven't had the time to sit down and watch anything new lately.

 **FrancisVamp0822:** Yeah, it felt like a filler episode to me. Thanks for your honest review.

 **Guest (Kamen Rider W):** Yeah, I don't think there's ever really been a male OC based story for Bleach. Well, not one that replaces Ichigo. As for the harem, I'll likely and in a current cat lady.

 **Dracus7:** Do you consider these lists as spam? And seriously, did you even read the AN from the last chapter? But I'm going to try and be nice here. I will not do any of these stories. Now that I've said that, I hope that'll you'll understand. Because I really don't want to do any of them!

Also, the Witcher and RWBY idea is no longer something I want to do.

 **Guest:** I just came out this another chapter for that story.

 **Guest:** The third battery is still inside of RC. If I remember correctly, it wasn't taken out. The Blue Lion fill the second battery with quintessence, and Coran repaired the third battery.

 **Spiral-Voltron-Zero0Q1:** Thanks!

 **planotexas2:** right now

* * *

 **Moore's Logbook:**

My neuralink with RC is improving—we were stronger together. It has to be, because we were on our way to the Balmera. We're going to free the alien named Shay and her family from the Galra. Freeing the dying planet from Zarkon will be the first official combat mission we'll ever have in our war against the tyrant.

* * *

" **Battle of the Balmera—Part 1"**

In his room, Marcus was sleeping soundly. He still had his armor on, as he laid on his back with his helmet off. While it was unconformable at first, even after removing the bulky jump kit, ammo pouches and chest rig, he didn't want to take off the armor as they were approaching their destination. After leaving the criminals on the moon, basically leaving them to fate, they were on the way to the Balmera. Allura decided that the team should use this time to sleep before they get to the planet. Hunk was against it, wanting to get to Shay as quickly as possible, eventually agreed after a yawn.

When was the last time any of them got any sleep?

A smile spread on his lips as the young Pilot dreamt of Harmony. However, he was startled awake by the sound of the ship's alarms blaring. _"Paladins, Marcus, we're approaching the Balmera,"_ Allura said over the intercom.

Marcus jumped off the bed and put on all of his equipment. He then grabbed his Wingman hand-cannon, a few grenades, the V-47 Flatline, ammo clips, reached for his Data-Knife…but he saw it wasn't on his desk. He looked around the room. Where did it go? Even it if was destroyed, he still kept it to hopefully fix it.

" _Marcus, we're waiting for you."_

Marcus grabbed his helmet and put it on. When the HUB was online, he contacted the Bridge. "Sorry, on my way," he said, before leaving the room.

When he reached the Bridge and entered, Marcus saw the others standing behind Allura. In front of them was the Balmera as the Castle of Lions approached it. Allura and the other heard the sound of the doors sliding up and turned to see Marcus approaching. "Good, we're all here," Allura said with a smile, before turning her expression to a serious one. "We'll be arriving at the Balmera soon. Liberating these Balmerans from Zarkon's grasp will not be easy."

Marcus nodded and pointed to the living planet. "So, that's the Balmera," he asked, seeing how it looked like it was dying. It reminded the team of planets that were drained of all of its resources by the IMC. Destroying the ecosystem and taking everything before leaving it dead. With no hope of recovering.

"So, what's the plan," Lance asked. "We go in there and just—Pow, pow, pow!" He then started imitating laser fire, making shooting gestures with his hands. He then pretended to holster his 'blaster' "—And free the prisoners?"

Keith and Marcus stared at him oddly with raised eyebrows. "What the hell was that noise," asked the Red Paladin.

Lance smirked. "Laser guns."

"No, Lance, I think you mean—" Hunk joined in by crouching his knees and imitated a huge laser cannon with while arm gestures. "—Pow!"

"That sounds like fireworks," Marcus said, confused as to why this was even a thing.

"Technically, they're more like—ba-choo, ba-choo, ba-choo!" Now Pidge was getting into it, imitating firing a small laser gun.

"Okay, enough with the bad sound effects." Shiro ordered. "... Besides, it's more like— blam, blam, blam!" He then dramatically got on one knee and started shooting an invisible laser gun.

"What?" Keith exclaimed, holding out his

"You're crazy," Pidge said.

"No way." Lance crossed his arms.

"Nuh—Wrong." Hunk hand his hands on his hips.

They were a little startled when the intercom made a _Star Wars_ laser sound. All were quiet, before RC said, _**"That's what a short burst of static electricity created from a laser blaster sounds like."**_

"You just used that for a movie!" Marcus exclaimed.

Having reached her limit, Allura closed her eyes in irritation and scowled. "Paladins, focus," she snapped, finally reining the team in to focus on their mission.

"Besides, we can't just shoot at the Galra. This Balmera, it's, like, alive," Hunk stated, remembering how it was in extremely poor health. "And from what we've seen, it doesn't look very good."

"Yes, it's an atrocity what the Galra have been doing to this grand beast," Coran said, pulling up a holographic screen of the Balmera that showed its thermals. It showed red in the middle, with a yellow outline, then green and blue. "Stealing its Crystals, its very life force, without ever performing the energy rejuvenation ceremonies to heal it."

"After seeing Shay's people enslaved, it made me realize how bad Zarkon really is," the Yellow Paladin said, staring at the Balmera in determination. "And we're the only ones who can stop him."

"Okay, so we can't go into the tunnels guns blazing," Marcus said, turning to Allura and the Paladins. "Then we'll need a Plan B. My guess is that we draw the Galra up to the surface and battle them out there."

"Wait, I know!" Hunk proclaimed, before a cartoon of his plan appeared. "If we attack all of this big mining stuff on the surface, the Galra troops will have to come out to defend it. Then we beat them up, head down to the tunnels, Voltron saves the day."

"But how will we know how many are left down in the tunnels?" Keith questioned, bring up a good point.

"We can track the Galra and the Balmerans using Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology," Allura said, pulling up a holographic display of a tripod device.

"Oh, BLIP tech!" Pidge exclaimed. She heard silence from the princess, and looked at her. Seeing that Allura did not understand and stared at the Green Paladin silently. "... It's an acronym?"

Allura turned back to the subject. "One of you will need to fly around the Balmera and drop sensors into the shafts on each side," she said. The holographic screen shifted and was displayed on the window. Showing the team, a map of the Balmera's tunnels, imitating the plan. "Then we'll be able to see where the Galra and the Balmerans are. There are already sensors built into your suits. Including you helmet, Marcus."

"I can do it," Pidge said. "I just modified the Green Lion with the invisible maze's cloaking ability. I should be able to fly around unnoticed."

Coran then brought up an image of the Balmera's surface on the screen. Showing a large Galra structure. "That's their main power generator. If you take that down, it will severely weaken their defenses."

"We'll stay in cloud cover and give tactical support," Allura said, summoning a small holographic display of the Castleship. "With the Castle's defenses weakened from Sendak's Crystal, we won't be of much help to you."

"We'll be facing resistance from the Galra when we attack," Marcus said, crossing his arms.

"Right, I'll take out the power generator. Keith, Lance, Hunk, Marcus, you take out these big mining rigs around the area. And if anyone gets in our way, we take them down."

"Yeah! Okay, let's do this! Let's go kick some alien butt!" Hunk shouted, throwing a fist up. The Paladins went to their seats to get into their Lions, and Marcus turned to go to the hangar and get to his Titan.

Allura stopped him by calling to him. "Marcus, wait." The Pilot stopped and looked at her, as the princess walked up to him. She held out her hand and using her advance technology, Allura summoned a weapon. But it wasn't just any weapon, it was Marcus's Data-Knife.

"Is that…" Marcus looked in amazement at his once destroyed knife.

"I know that knife is important to you as a Pilot, so I took it upon myself to repair it," Allura explained as she handled the knife to him. "And made a few modifications."

Marcus stared at his knife in wonder. The blade looked brand new. But then a realization entered his head and he turned to her with a dirty look. "Wait, did you sneak into my room and stole this?"

Allura blushed lightly and looked away in embarrassment. "I…well, it was just…" She cleared her throat and refrained herself. "I was just making sure that everyone's ready for the battle ahead."

"Right, so what do you mean by modification?"

She smirked and press a small button near his fingers. This caused the blade of the Data-Knife started to glow bright blue and then extended to the length of a short sword. Marcus was taken aback by this. It was just like Haxus's energy sword, but instead of a crude looking energy blade, the Data-Knife's blue blade kept it clean and lethal shape. Now it was longer.

"Ooo~!" The Paladins and Coran looked in amazement at the blue blade, though Lance looked jealous.

"Now you'll be able to fight against the Galra in melee combat," Allura said with a smile of determination. Marcus deactivated the energy blade, turning it back into the normal blade, and sheathing it.

* * *

Soon, the ship entered into the atmosphere of the Balmera. Walking into the hangar, Marcus went over to RC. With the Castleship having no special hangar for the Titan to preform Titanfall—which was similar to how drop pods are deployed; being launched out of a starship hangar bay at hyper-sonic velocities, Allura opened the bay doors open for the Pilot to fly out of.

The Paladins were already prepared to launch. All they were waiting for was the Pilot to get into his Titan. "You think the Balmerans will have a parade for us after we've freed everybody," Lance asked with a smug smirk over the comm, pressing a couple buttons on his dashboard.

RC kneeled and opened her hatch. As Marcus climbed into the Titan and took his seat, Keith responded to Lance. "It's not about the glory, Lance. It's about freeing prisoners from Zarkon," he said.

RC stood up and the hatch closed. **"Controls transferred to Pilot."**

"No, I know. I know. But still. When they—" His victory musings were cut short when the Blue Lion launched forward, jolting Lance.

The five Lions of Voltron took flight out Castleship.

"Let's go!" With control over RC and hangar door up, Marcus rushed towards the opening and jump high off the edge. He activated the thrusters and was now flying after the Lions. It was time to put everything he's been training for to the test.

The Lions and Titan flew down towards the Balmera's surface, breaking through the clouds. As they descended, the Galra structures began firing an intense assault of lasers. There was also a large tower with three diamond-shaped lasers that were together to create a Y-shape star. The lasers fired together, sending out a flat laser bolt in the same shape.

"This is it. Get your heads in the game," Shiro said, as they all started taking evasive action to dodge the lasers. "Remember, the Balmera is a living creature. Make sure you pinpoint only the Galra installations and not its surface."

The Lions and Titan separated ways. Shiro headed straight for the generator. Lance, Hunk, Keith, and Marcus began their attack on the mining rigs.

Pidge split off from the team to do her mission. "Initiating cloak." A moment later, the Green Lion turned invisible and flew low to the ground. As the Green Paladin flew over the holes, she dropped the BLIP drones into them.

Marcus moved around the laser bolts with grace and skill. The Titan then flew low to the surface, then grabbed the Chaingun. Flying between the mining rigs as fast speeds, Marcus started shooting the structures. Destroying them as he pasted.

Lance also dodged the lasers, before taking out several cannons with pin-point accuracy. Shooting them with the Blue Lion's tail cannon.

Hunk's strategy was simpler, and that was to use the powerful strength and durability of the Yellow Lion to body slam more Galra weaponry to pieces.

Shiro flew towards the power generator. But with no known weapons that his Lion had, there was no way that he could successfully attack it. "How do I take this thing down?" He wondered. Just then, the Black Lion displayed a holoscreen of a blade weapon that would be located in the jaws of the robot. "What's that? Jaw blade? Okay! Let's do this!"

Pushing the handles forward, Shiro summoned the dual-bladed weapon as it appeared in the Lion's.

He flew towards the power generator. Flying along the arcs powering the generator, the Black Lion slashed through each one. Once it was done, he flew up away, as the structure exploded.

Meanwhile, Pidge was finishing her mission. Once she deployed the last BLIP drones, the Green Paladin contacted the Castleship. "All sensors delivered." Allura and Coran saw a hologram in the Bridge that showed the inner tunnel system of the Balmera, with a drone in the middle.

"We still have to take out that big one!" Marcus said to the others. Dodging another large laser attack.

Keith was able to dodge the same blast. Then the Red Lion suddenly opened its mouth and shot out a powerful heat ray. It melted through the cannon's tower entirely, as Keith looked shocked and excited. "Whoa! Did you guys just see that? I got fire powers!"

"Hey! I want that!" Lance pouted in jealously.

Marcus was about to retort, but then the weakened tower started to buckle and collapse under its weight. Falling over towards the Balmera's surface and threatening it harm. "Oh no!" He flew towards it.

Going under the tower, he put away the Chaingun and placed both hands on it. Using RC's powerful thrusters, he tried to push the tower up. Grunting, he struggled to even stop its momentum.

"Hey, we can't let this thing hurt the Balmera!" Hunk exclaimed, and came over to help. Using the Lion's back to push, he tried to help the Pilot to get the tower upright.

As the others looked onwards, Lance said, "I think my Lion knows what to do!" He went towards the tower.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast!" Marcus yelled.

Just like the Red Lion, the Blue Lion opened its mouth. Activating a weapon within it. This time, it shot a freeze ray that coated the fallen tower in ice. Marcus and Hunk got out of the way and watched as the ice prevented the tower from collapse.

"Ha-Aw, _snap!_ These rays are super cool, just like me!" Lance gloated with a smug look.

" **Hostiles eliminated,"** RC said.

"Great job, team!" Shiro complemented all five of them, as the Lions landed on top of the frozen tower. The Titan dropped down onto it and stood with them. Now all that was left was to wait for the Galra forces to counter attack them.

But after the end of the battle, all remains silent on the Balmera.

Marcus scanned the area. "Where are all the troops," he asked.

" **Paladin Hunk, your report of this planet stated that there was a large enemy presence when you first arrived."**

Hunk sent a video transmission to Marcus on his HUD. "Yeah, I remember seeing a lot of Galra guys down in the mines."

As she looked at the map of the Balmera, Allura saw something that caused her to contact the team. "We've located a hangar full of Galra Destroyers just below the surface," she said with urgency. Marcus gasped. Why were there those Galra Titans doing here? "Someone has to take those out before they can launch."

"They're luring us down, but we have no choice," Shiro told them before giving the team their next orders. "Marcus, take Keith and Lance with you to hit the hangar. Hunk headed towards the prison to rescue Shay and the other Balmerans. Pidge and I will track down the Galra soldiers."

As Shiro launched off the ice, Marcus flew off as well. "Let's go!"

"Yes, sir!" Keith followed after the Titan

"Ten-four!" Lance was right behind him.

"On it!" Pidge followed Shiro.

"Let's do this!" Hunk went in the direction of the prisoners.

* * *

At Zarkon's Central Command System, a Galran soldier named Thace approached Prorok to inform him about news that just came in from the Balmera "Commander Prorok, we have word from the troops on Balmera X-95 Vox. The informants were right. Voltron is there," he told his commander.

Prorok was pleased with this news. "Excellent. Everything is going according to plan."

"How do you wish to proceed? Should we inform Emperor Zarkon?"

"Contact Subcommander Ylvik," Prorok ordered his subordinate when he faced him. "His fleet is awaiting my command. Tell him it's time to attack and to have his best Destroy pilot ready. I will update the Emperor."

* * *

Dropping down to the bottom of mine shafts, each Paladin left their Lion, before deploying their speeders to navigate the tunnels. To protect themselves, the Lions activated their force field. With no speeder of his own, and figuring it was better not to take her, Marcus jumped out of RC and had her go out of the tunnel to protect the Castleship if it was attacked. Currently he was riding on the back of Keith's speeder.

When they reached their destination, Keith and Lance stopped. Marcus jumped off the red speeder as the two Paladins got out. He followed them with his Flatline and the three of them got some rocks. Scoping out the Galra hangar, they saw that there were hundreds of Destroyers.

Marcus then saw a same flying platform that was carrying something. Pressing a small button on the side of his helmet, Marcus's HUD view zoomed in for a closer look. His eyes widened behind the visor when he saw that it was carrying a crystal to a Destroyer. Hovering over the war machine, it lowered the crystal by a crane into a tub inside the Destroyer.

The Destroyer's lights powered up, and Marcus quickly sent Allura a video transmission that showed her what he was seeing. "Allura, Coran, we found the Destroyers," he said, looking at another flying platform that was installing another crystal into a Destroyer.

 _ **Allura and Coran**_

" _I think this is why the Galra are mining this place,"_ Marcus said as Coran and Allura watched from the bridge.

Allura stared in shock. "They're using the Balmera's crystals to power their Destroyers," she said with a scared tone. Using the Balmera's crystal to power warships was one thing, but to have them power Destroyers? That meant that the Galra were using this Balmera to bring their readied robots to give them their power cores.

And if the Balmera was close to death, then the number of Destroyers that the Galra had were more than she initially thought.

 _ **Marcus, Keith, and Lance**_

" _Do what you can to stop those Destroyers from getting out!"_ Allura ordered over the comms.

Keith pointed to some of the Sentries that were standing guard in the hangar. "The entire hangar's only being guarded by a few Sentries," he said, before standing up and readying his Bayard. "Let's go!"

He very nearly rushed in to attack, if it wasn't for Lance. "Whoa, w-w-whoa, whoa!" Lance grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Causing Keith to land on the ground. "Cool your jets, Keith! Don't you remember all that stuff about this Balmera thing being a sensitive animal?" Lance remained the hotheaded Paladin.

When remembering, Keith looked a little dumbfounded. "Oh, right," he said before putting his hand on his chin.

"Yeah, so we can't just blow things up like a psycho." Lance said, getting glared at by Keith.

"Oh, you got a better idea?" Keith shot back.

"I do," Lance explained, pointing at one of two long, thin platforms that acted as bridges between where the three were and to where the control room was. "We sneak into the control room to shut down the bay doors." He pointed up at the bay doors at the ceiling. "That'll trap the robots in."

"That—!" Marcus was about to argue, but then his eyes widened. At first, he was also ready to attack, but was then surprised by Lance's tactical insight and admittedly better plan. "... Actually... is a better idea. Wow, I never though I'd ever say that. Like ever."

Lance's smirk dropped and he looked a little annoyed. "Thank you, Marcus."

The Pilot and Paladins started sneaking across the platform towards the hangar's control room.

 _ **Allura and Coran**_

Back on the ship, Coran monitored the map as the Castleship tracked everyone's movements using the BLIP Tech. _"Allura, Coran, w-what's my location?"_ asked Hunk, prompting Coran to look at where the Paladin's yellow indicator was. _"All these tunnels look the same. I can't remember where the prison is."_

"You're on the right path," Coran said, twirling his mustache. "Turn right at the next tunnel. Once you get there, you'll have to disable the energy doors. Be careful. It looks like it's heavily guarded."

 _ **Marcus, Keith, and Lance**_

Inside the control room was a lone Sentry that was monitoring and working the controls from a single console. However, above its head, the whispering voices of Lance, Keith and Marcus arguing could be heard.

"No, no. It's over here."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, I'm ready."

As the Sentry was standing in place, it didn't seem to hear the blade of Keith's Bayard katar stab into the ceil. Like butter, it sliced a hole in the ceiling above the Sentry. When the blade pulled out, that's when the robot heard it and looked up.

Right before Marcus kicked the hole in, crushing the Sentry underneath its weight. Then Lance and Keith entered the control room. "Keep an eye out for those guards," Lance told them and went up to the console. "I'll see if I can find a way to shut the hangar doors."

Keith and Marcus nodded and stood watch. Looking out at the Sentries down below. Lance inspected the computer console. However, there's just one problem. All the controls were in Galra, and he couldn't make heads or tails of it. Lance tried his luck and started to press some buttons. But nothing was working.

He groaned and turned to the others. "Ah, I don't know what I'm doing here. It's all Galra gibberish."

"Let me see," said Keith, walking over to the panel.

Marcus was on one knee as he looked out at the hangar. He looked over to Keith as he inspected the console. The Red Paladin then noticed a large rectangular button with some kind of Galra symbol. Keith stared at it for a moment, and for a second, he felt like he could understand what it said. He put his hand on the hand print, activating the bay doors that started whirring as it slowly closed.

Marcus looked at Keith in surprise with Lance. "How'd you do that," asked the Pilot.

"I just put my hand on the hand print," Keith answered with a shrug.

 _ **Hunk**_

Hunk looked at his speeder's holoscreen. He was getting closer to the prison's energy door entrance. This was it. It was time to save Shay.

As he reached the prison inside the mines, the Galra Sentries were starting to flee, but some remained. Standing on a cliff, they fired at him. Hunk dodged some of the lasers before bringing the speeder to a halt. Hunk then exited out of his speeder and got behind it was a grunt. He looked over the edge as the Sentries hit the vehicle, before activating his Bayard.

Putting out of cover, he opened fire on the Sentries. Destroying them in an explosion. "Yeah!" Hunk yelled in victory, before a severed hand of one of the robots landed near him. "That was _way_ too easy. I _definitely_ don't have a good feeling about this."

Pushing aside his instincts telling him that this was likely a trap, Hunk grabbed hand and put it on the handprint scanner. This unlocked the prison energy doors, causing them to go do.

Entering into the dark tunnels of the prison, Hunk ran down into the darkness, while panting. He stopped when he saw a platoon of Sentries leaving the prison down a different tunnel. He looked in the direction they can from and saw the prison that the Balmerans were kept in. The Yellow Paladin hurried over to them and used the Galra hand to shut down the partial barrier.

Upon noticing that it was down, the Balmerans turned to Hunk. Shay's father, mother, and grandmother were happy to see him. "Hunk, you have returned!" The father said, as they stood to greet him.

Hunk smiled and greeted him by holding hands. "I promised I'd be back. We're here to help. Where's Shay?"

"Our life may not have been perfect, but our family was whole," said the only person not happy to see Hunk; Rax. He sat on a rock and glared angrily at Hunk. "Your arrival has left us imprisoned and torn apart. As soon as your attack started, they took her away to the core of the Balmera. For all we know, she could be gone for good."

 _"Paladins, are you there?"_ Allura's voice came on the radio. _"The Galra troops are moving down the tunnels. It looks like they're going down toward the center."_

"They must be headed to the core of the Balmera," Hunk said, before leaving the Balmerans in a hurry to get to his speeder. "That's where they're holding Shay."

 _ **Marcus, Keith, and Lance**_

As the hangar doors were closing, Marcus and the two Paladins with him heard RC on the radio. _**"Everyone be advised, it is a likely probability that they're drawing you into an ambush. But to uphold the mission of saving the Balmeran Shay, then we have no other opinions."**_

" _She's right."_ Shiro then said. _"Lance, Keith, Marcus get to the core. I think we're going to need everyone together to get through this firefight."_

"Copy that. We're on our way," Marcus responded as the hangar was now completely closed. The three of them got up, with the Pilot and Lance going to the door, while Keith stayed a moment to slash the computer, destroying it. As Keith ran out, he ran past Lance, who summoned his Bayard laser rifle and shot the panel to the door. The door slid shut, and would hopefully not open again.

The three teammates then ran together to the core.

 _ **Pidge**_

Just like Shiro, Pidge was deep in the tunnels while making her way to the Balmera's core. Riding in her speeder, it seemed like an easy task, but then she gasped and stopped the vehicle. In front of her was a tunnel that was too small for the speeder to access.

 _"Looks like you're in an area where the tunnels are too narrow for your speeder."_ Allura said to her, as Pidge got out of the speeder.

"Yeah. Proceeding on foot." Pidge jumped out of the ride and started walking along the path.

But then she saw shadows against the wall, and they were approaching. "There's someone here," Pidge said, hiding against the wall.

 _"Looking into it."_ Allura said.

But as the footsteps were getting closer, Pidge knew that she couldn't wait for Allura anymore. She activated her Bayard, and ran out of cover to attack.

 _"Pidge, no! Those are Balmerans!"_ Allura's call came not a moment too soon, making Pidge stop to see that the princess was right. They were only children carrying a lantern.

Pidge breathed out a sigh of relief and greeted them with a smile and wave.

But the moment was gone when the fragile living planet suddenly began to cry in pain and rumble. The Balmera whimpered and ran away. One of them tripped and fell on the ground. But tunnel ceiling began to collapse, with a massive rock started to break off.

Pidge ran towards the child and used her jetpack to grab them before the rock could crush them. When she let the kid go, the Balmerans hugged each other. "Don't worry," Pidge said to them before contacting the others. "Hey, team, be careful. The Balmera is very unstable."

 _ **Marcus, Keith, and Lance**_

Marcus, Keith, and Lance heard her as they ran down a tunnel. But then stopped when they saw a squad of four Sentries. The robots noticed them and started shooting. The humans jumped out of the way and got to cover on each side. Keith and Marcus on the right, and Lance on the left.

Then the Balmera started to cry in pain, and Marcus saw that it was the because of the Sentries' laser shots were hitting the walls of the planet. "Their shooting is destroying the Balmera. We gotta do something!"

The poor planet's cries were getting louder. Lance then saw that Marcus was about to shoot back, but stopped him by yelling, "Well, we can't shoot back! It'll just make it worse."

Marcus cursed and looked around to figure out a plan. When the robots stopped shooting, and the Balmera continued to tremble, the Pilot saw that there was a cliff that he could use to get the jump on the enemy. "I got an idea," he said before turning and climbing up a ladder. "Distract them!"

"Distract them how?" Keith asked. Lance though for a moment, before coming up with an idea.

He jumped out of his cover and started dancing tauntingly while waving his arms. "Na-na Na-na boo-boo!" Keith and even the Sentries (somehow) sweat-dropped. But they took the bait, and Lance defended himself with his shield as the Sentries fired at him. Keith jumped in with his shield to help him.

Seeing his chance, Marcus jumped down from above. Activating his new Data Knife's energy blade. Planting his foot into the face of one of the Sentries, Marcus knocked it over and crushed the head into the ground, as he slashed across the chest of the nearest robot. He then rushed towards the third Sentry and stabbed into it. Then pulled out his Wingman and shot off the head of the last robot.

Keith and Lance deactivated their shields and looked at the Pilot with wide eyes. Amazed that he was able to actually take them all out in under five seconds!

Marcus gave them a thumbs up.

 _ **Hunk**_

Carrying his Bayard cannon, Hunk rushed to the core of the Balmera while yelling a battle cry. Prepared to fight for his life to save Shay. However, when he entered the large core of the planet, there was no one but the Balmeran girl is inside. Muzzled and hanging from the ceiling.

"Shay! You're alive!" Hunk exclaimed, getting her attention. When she saw that it was Hunk, she shook her head and tried to say something. But all that came out were muffled moans.

Hunk didn't notice and aimed the cannon at the wire keeping her up. Shooting Shay free and then used his jetpack to catch her as she fell. As he set her down on her feet, Shiro entered the chamber. "Where are the Galra," he asked, looking around and then saw Pidge entering from another tunnel. "If this is an ambush, they should be here waiting for us."

Suddenly the doors to the room started to close shut. Keith, Lance, and Marcus walked into the core before their door shut behind them, surprising them.

"Not an ambush. More like a trap," Hunk said, as Shay tried to get the muzzle off.

"Whatever it is, keep your guard up," Keith said, as the group gathered together.

"The Galra, they gained knowledge that you would return to the Balmera," Shay explained to the heroes.

"How?" Marcus demanded. "Who could have possibly known that we were heading here to save you?"

"I know not," She replied to the Pilot, before looking down in shame. "But they set this trap just for you. I was the bait."

"Rolo!" Hunk exclaimed in anger. "Those liars must have told Zarkon."

"We'll figure that out later," Shiro said, turning his back towards everyone and looked around the core. "We have to figure out how to get out of here."

" _ **Pilot, do you copy, over?"**_ RC's voice was heard over the comms. But there was a lot of static and it sounded like a fight was going on in the background.

Marcus quickly answered the call. "RC? What's going on?"

* * *

" **We're completely surrounded by Galra ships and the Castle's taking heavy fire!"** RC said, shooting down more fighters that were chasing after her. Just about a few seconds after the team got trapped underground, a massive squadron of Galra fighter jets came out of nowhere and started attacking the Castleship. RC's been doing everything she can to take out as many of them as she could. Which led to her getting chased after by some of the fighters.

She quickly stopped and flew backwards, letting the Galra go pass her. Locking on to them with her missiles, she destroyed them. After that, RC turned around towards the Castle. They were trapped by the fighters with only the energy barrier to protect them. Unable to retaliate with their weakened ship.

"RC, do what you can to get rid of those fighters," Allura said from then Bridge, as the ship was rocked by the hits they were taking. She saw Titan fly towards the fighters and began attacking again, as alarms blared all around them and red lights flashed. "Marcus, where are you and the Paladins."

" _We're trapped in the core,"_ Marcus said. By his tone, she could tell he's frustrated for not being able to help. _"It wasn't an ambush, it was a trap!"_

"Princess, our particle barrier won't last much longer!" Coran shouted.

Allura was sweating. Unable to retaliate with their weakened ship, and with RC struggling to do what she could to protect the ship, the princess knew that every passing moment, their particle barrier will collapse and leave them defenseless. "Marcus, Paladins, you need to get out of there as soon as you can!"

* * *

At the core of the Balmera, Lance looked dejected. "This is it! We're going to die in here," he lamented with comically teary eyes. "I can say bye-bye to that parade."

His team gave him unimpressed and annoyed looks, while Shay was confused.

Marcus punched him in the back of the head. "We're not going to die! We just need to get it together," he said, before contacting the Princess and his Titan. "Allura, we'll get there as soon as we can. RC, until then, do what you can to protect her."

" _ **Copy that, Pilot."**_

As Lance pouted and nursed his head, Shay stepped forward. "Perhaps my people can help us get out," she said. They all watched as she walked over to what looked like the heart—or the core of the Balmera. Placing her hand on it. "This is how we communicate. The Balmera senses our vibrations and sends a message to those in the tunnels."

Keith wasn't the only one who was skeptical, as Shay looked at them. "Are you sure someone will be able to hear your... hand from all the way down here?" The Red Paladin asked.

"The Balmera _will_ deliver the message," Shay replied with great confidence in her home's abilities. She then closed her eyes, and focused on the message to send out. To everyone's amazement, the Balmera softly moaned its whale-like groan and the area around her hand glows. Even Marcus opened his visors to see it with his own eyes.

* * *

As the Balmera continued to moan, Shay's the message was sent all throughout the tunnels. Including the one that Rax and his family were in. As they walked somberly towards where ever the path led them, Rax stopped when he heard the moaning and felt the Balmera sending a message. Then his family felt it, and gasped. Rax placed his hand on the ground and it glowed.

He gasped and said, ""It's a message from Shay."

"She's alive!" His father breathed in joy.

"The Paladins of Voltron went to the core of the Balmera to save Shay... and now they are all trapped." He finished the message by looking up at his family.

Upon hearing the last part, all hope was taken from the family. "Then we are all doomed," said the father.

As Rax stood up, his heart became filled with guilt and shame. "This is all my fault. I conspired against them, and because of my actions, Shay was imprisoned. The big yellow one was right. If we ever hope to be free, we must take action."

The family looked at him with surprise. Action. Against Zarkon and his forces? "But how can we rise up against our Galra overlords," asked the father.

"What choice do we have?" Rax asked, walking up to his father. "They have stolen all of the Crystals from our Balmera. Our lives are worthless to them now."

His father was still hesitant to go through with it. "But Balmerans have _never_ fought."

Rax looked at his feet. "You taught me that without family, we have nothing," he said, before looking up at his father. His heart filled with a new sense of determination. "The Galra have taken Shay. How can we do nothing while the Paladins sacrifice everything to save us? We must do our part!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Zarkon's Command Ship. Prorok approached the Emperor in his throne room. He kneeled before him and said with confidence, "Lord Zarkon, I have news to report. News that will likely please you, my Emperor."

Zarkon said "Proceed."

"I have the Voltron Paladins trapped on a Balmera in the Javeeno star system. I've ordered a fleet to capture the Lions and destroy the Altean Castle."

But this did not please Zarkon in the slightest. It only enraged him. "You fool! You dare make plans without informing me?"

"Forgive me, Emperor... but I saw an opportunity and I took it for the glory of the Galra Empire," he said, calmly. However, he was just trying to suppress his nerves.

"I suspect that you are seeking your own glory, Prorok. But you do not realize Voltron's power."

* * *

Back at the Balmera, RC was flying above the squad of Galra fighters and shooting down at them. 20 mm round ripped through the fighters as she tried protecting the Castleship. But then she stopped when noticing seven jets veering off and heading down to the surface.

RC radioed the Castle. **"Princess, seven fighters have broken off and are heading down to the surface."**

Coran gasped. "They're going to steal the Lions!"

"RC, stop them!" Allura shouted on the comms. In an instant, the Titan went straight after the fighters. "Paladins, the Lions are in danger! You must get back to them immediately!"

The Castleship's alarms suddenly blared, and Coran then saw something on his console and started to get him scared. "Princess, something's locked onto us." As RC flew after the fighters and was able to shoot down one of them, her sensors picked up the same thing. She stopped in midair and turned back around.

The situation could not have become more dire—on the Bridge, Allura froze in fear when a massive Galra warship appeared out of the abyss of space. Dwarfing her Castle with its size as it drifted towards the Alteans.

" **Princess, I'm moving to intercept the warship."** RC informed Allura, before flying towards the Galra. Only to be rammed from the side by a Destroyer.

"RC!" Allura yelled, watching as the Titan was carried away towards the surface of the Balmera.

The Destroyer grabbed RC by the arm and threw her at a rock formation. RC's body broke through it, before bouncing off the ground with some thuds, before coming to a skidding stop. As the Titan began to get up, with her shields returning to 100% after taking a hard landing, her sensors blared.

She used her thrusters and flew out of the way of a large double-bladed ax, with glowing purple energy blades, could be brought down on her. The Titan got back on her feet and looked at her attacker. This Destroyer wasn't like the other ones. It wasn't as bulky like an Ogre. Instead, it was slimmer and nibbler like a Stryder-class Titan. It had the same purple colors of the Galra with the bright purple visor on its chest. With no gun, it had the large axe.

The hatch opened, and the elite Destroyer pilot stood up from inside. "So, you're the Titan that the Emperor's interested in? Alright then. Let's have some fun, machine." The Galran sat back down in his Destroyer and the hatch closed. Grabbed the ax with both hands, he charged at RC.

Feeling something negative spike in her system when he called her a machine, RC put her Chaingun on her back and charged at him too. Activating her hidden blade.

When they were close, the Destroyer and Titan jumped at each other.

* * *

 _"Paladins, do you copy? There's a battle cruiser locked onto us, and RC's dealing with an elite Destroyer pilot,"_ Allura informed the team in the Balmera. _"If it fires with its ion cannon, I don't know if we can survive."_

"We're trying, Allura. Shay's pressing her hand against the wall, which apparently sends vibrations to the other rock people, who vibrate back or something?" Lance said, trying his best to explain the situation going on to Allura. But even he sounded confused by what was going on. "Hand talking? I guess the answer to your question is, 'Yes, we copy.'"

"Shay, are you sure the Balmera is sending your message?" Shiro asked, wanting to get back up and into the action.

Shay focused harder, with the Balmera continuing to moan. Outside one of the doors to the core, her family stood in front of the door. Placing their hands on the door, they focused together with Shay. Instructing the Balmera into crushing the doorway open.

This surprised the Paladins, Pilot, and Shay. Then, as Rax and his family entered the core of the Balmera, the sister gasped happily. "Rax!"

"We must make haste. We know a shortcut through the tunnels," said the brother.

Everyone started to run towards the family and exit, as Shiro radioed Allura. "Allura, stand by. We're on our way up."

* * *

RC jumped back from a swing of the ax by the Destroyer. Using her thrusters to move further away, the Titan deployed her missile pod. When all targets were on the Galra's chaise, she unleashed the tracking missiles. However, the Destroyer brought out its small, shoulder mounted laser turret and rapidly fired. Taking out all the missile.

" _It's pointless! The Lions are ours now."_ the Galra pilot said, pointing the ax at the Titan. Down below in the tunnels, the Galra fighters were using their tracker beams to raise the Lions of Voltron to the surface. _"With your pilot, you're no match for me."_

RC got into a defensive stance. He was right. Without her Pilot, then the chances of defeating the Destroyer were lower.

"RC!"

RC heard her Pilot and turned towards the direction the voice came from. The Black Lion flew out of the mines and went towards her. And hanging off the right ear was Marcus. **"Moore."**

The Black Lion flew above the Titan and Marcus jumped off. Falling towards RC. The Titan grabbed her Pilot and opened her hatch. Marcus tucked in his arms and legs, before being placed inside of RC. Strapped in and the with the hatch shutting, he looked at the Destroyer. "Missed me, RC?"

" **By 'missed' you mean have noticed your absence and to seek for you to return,"** RC answered, making Marcus sweat-drop. **"To answer your question; I have missed you."**

"Guys, did everyone make it to the Lions in time?" Shiro asked to the other Paladins. The other lions can out of the tunnels and flew with Shiro in a formation.

"Come on, Shiro. Who you think you're dealing with, a bunch of amateurs—" because he wasn't paying attention, Lance ran the Blue Lion into a mining structure.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Marcus asked.

"No."

"Let's go!" Shiro exclaimed, and the Lions flew off to fight the Galra fighters and warship.

And the fighting as going on above Marcus's head, he got into a fighting stance with RC's hidden blade. _"So, you're the Titan Pilot?"_ The elite Galra asked nonchalantly. Swinging his ax around like it was a cane. _"Finally. Fighting your machine wasn't much of a challenge."_

"Yeah, well, I'll make it interesting for you." Marcus charged at the Destroyer. The Galra charged at faster speeds, and swung horizontally. Only for Marcus to block it with the hidden blade, and then kick away the Destroyer. With the Destroyer knocked on its back, the Vanguard ran at it and jumped up high, with his melee weapon aimed to stab into its chest.

However, before he could land on it, the Destroyer rolled away. Making Marcus stab into the ground. _"Interesting."_ The Galra elite jumped up with his ax raised to bring it down his enemy.

Marcus retracted the hidden blade and grabbed the ax by its body. Stopping it, before pushing the Destroyer back. The Galra stopped Marcus by digging his machine's feet into ground. Kicking up the earth, before halting. The two then pushed against each other. Struggling to gain the upper hand.

Marcus punched the Galra in the face, before swing the Destroyer around. Spinning around as he took it off its feet and swung it around. He then let it go, sending it flying into a large boulder. RC charged towards the Destroyer.

Then the ax was sent flying at him.

Hitting the Titan in the chest. Marcus grunted as he was knocked on his back.

"MARCUS!" Allura yelled in fear for the Pilot's life, as she had a screen up that showed her the fighting. But to her relief, the shields of the Titan held up, and stopped the energy blade from touching the armor plating. The ax was lying on the ground next to the down RC, as Marcus got right back up. He grabbed the ax and got ready to fight. The Destroyer walked out of the dust cloud and pulled out a new weapon from its back. This time a sword that looked like a Ronin Titan's Broadsword, with a large machete-like blade made of the same Galra purple energy.

As the war machines continued their fighting, Coran turned to the princess, as the Galra warship's cannon prepared to fire. "It's charging its ion cannon!"

"Divert all shields to the bow," Allura commanded. With no more fighters to worry about, they were able to protect their front side. The Castle of Lions focused its particle barrier to take the brunt of the assault.

The ion cannon fired at the ship. Marcus grunted when he and the elite pilot locked blades, then he saw the destructive beam hit the barrier of the Castleship, as it struggled to survive the blast from the ion cannon. "Allura! Are you okay?"

"We're fine!" Allura grunted with alarms blaring. "Just focus on taking down that Destroyer! Paladins, I need you immediately! Five more ticks and we're finished!"

"Okay, team, let's form Voltron!" said Shiro, as the Lions got into formation.

"Yeah!"

As for Marcus, he had an idea. The fighting with the Destroyer has brought them right next to a tunnel. It was a long drop to the bottom. "RC, I got an idea!"

" **Copy that!"** RC blocked another strike from the Destroyer.

" _It's no hope!"_ the Galran boasted. He then charged and stabbed at him. But then Marcus dodged the attack and used Dash to move behind it. He swung the ax down on the back of the Destroyer, cutting into it. _"GAH! WHAT?!"_

Yank out the ax and throwing it away, Marcus then grabbed the Destroyer and ran towards the tunnel. Taking the Galra with him as he fell to the bottom. The elite turned around and tried to hack at Marcus, but the Pilot grabbed the robot's arm. The Pilot punched the first of slime Destroyer.

With the bottom coming closer, Marcus knew that this was going to be his only chance to kill the Galra. He deployed his hidden blade and cut off the arm of the Destroyer. Before it was out of reach, he grabbed the energy broadsword.

" _No!"_ Marcus stabbed the sword into the chest of the Galra war machine, and turned on his thruster. Going down much faster.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Marcus let out a battle cry at the top of his lungs.

Then impact. Shay's family was nearby, with the Balmera let out a cry of pain, and running to where the crash happened. At first, all in front of them was dust. But as it cleared away, they were shocked by the sight before them. The Destroyer landed on it back hard and the earth around it was crumbled and with its body imprinted into it. Marcus was standing over it with the energy broadsword impaled deep into the chest of the war machine, piercing right through it and stabbing into the Balmera.

"Oh, shit," Marcus exclaimed before pulling it out quickly. He then tried making it up to the Balmera by patting it on the tunnel's walls. "Ah, sound about that, big guy. I…I just trying to get rid of this guy."

" **Moore, I recommend retrieving the elite Galran's communication unit from the helmet. This will allow us to eavesdrop on the Galra's transmissions."**

Then a massive explosion was heard from up above.

"Guy's was that you?"

Allura was the one to answer. "It was. Mission accomplished. How about you? I can't find you?"

"I'm down in the tunnels," Marcus said, popping up the hatch and stepping out of RC. He then when over to the Destroyer, along with RC. The Titan grabbed the edge of the Galra's hatch and ripped it right off. "I'm going to grab the communication unit from the elite."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Emperor's Command Ship, Prorok was still kneeling before Zarkon in the throne room. Waiting for the news to come if the mission was a success. The silence was broke when a Galra soldier spoke over the intercomm.

 _"The Galra fleet and all Sentries on the Balmera have been defeated! The elite Destroyer pilot has failed."_

Zarkon's eyes narrowed.

"No! How could this be?" Prorok exclaimed as he started to panic. He then turned back to Zarkon "Lord Zarkon, I will do all that I can to recapture Voltron for the Galra!"

"Silence, Prorok." Zarkon had enough with the commander and glared daggers at him. "I have plans that you cannot comprehend."

* * *

On the Balmera, Marcus flew RC out of the tunnel and landed on the surface. He looked at the energy Broadsword in his Titan's had and observed it. "This is a nice sword, I'm keeping it," he said. He then looked in front of him as the Paladins landed Voltron carefully on the Balmera's surface. Behind the mighty robot, the Castle of Lions slowly descended above them. "Mission accomplished."

"And just in the tick of time," Allura said from the Bridge. "The Castle's defenses are battered and will need to fully recharge."

Suddenly the Castle's alarms started to blare. RC's sensors picked up whatever was setting them off and turned towards the sky. Marcus saw it, and it looked like an asteroid. **"Everyone, be advised: an unknown object that matches the same design as the one that brought the giant robot to Arus is income!"** RC said, sending her Pilot, the Paladins, and the Castle's Bridge a screen that showed a close up of the object. Sure enough, it looked just like the one that brought the Robeast. **"It's about to crash into the Balmera!"**

The team could do nothing, as dying planet helplessly suffered when the spacecraft crashed into it. Causing a massive explosion.

As the dust cleared, Voltron and RC were staring right at the panther head-like design of the transport.

Marcus sighed, before reaching down and grabbing the ax off the ground. "Here we go again."

* * *

 **AN:**

 **And that was Chapter 7 and the first half of the Battle of the Balmera.**

 **Sorry it took so long. I was trying to write this chapter and a Bleach story I'm starting.**

 **So Allura got Marcus's Data-Knife fixed and added a cool new feature. Now it's like a lightsaber or something. That reason I gave Marcus this kind of melee weapon is for both having it as the Data-Knife and then if he was to ever fight an enemy in melee combat.**

 **And RC gets a new weapon too. The ax isn't going to stay. Just the sword.**

 **Thank you very much for reading. "Become ONE" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


	8. Battle of the Balmera—Part 2

**bmanbeast57:** You mean the episode or the series finale?

 **1jesus:** Thank you and I hope that you like this one.

 **LoamyCoffee:** Thanks.

 **ShadowUzumaki55:** Likely that Marcus will have some awesome swordfights, especially with the Elite Galra Destroy pilots. And RC will take some of equipment from enemy, just like in the game with Vanguard Titan's ability to switch loadouts on the battlefield.

 **TheNightstalker250:** That's right, but for now, she'll have just Burst Core.

 **Guest (ZILLAFAN):** You know, that's one thing I should have had Marcus asked them.

 **gabeherndon308:** I'm not sure, but Marcus will be separated from the team and be on a planet on his own with RC.

 **Guest:** Thanks.

 **Guest (Bobby Jenkins):** Seriously, where are all the periods? I'm not sure about adding all the girls into the harem. The ones that will definitely be in the harem will be Rukia, Orihime, and Yoruichi. As for the Zanpakutō, Kenny'll have Zangestu, but I've got an idea for the Sword. I have thought about _One Piece_ and _Black Clover_ , but nothing concert to go off of.

* * *

" **Battle of the Balmera—Part 2"**

Although Team Voltron had successfully rescued Shay and thwarted Prorok's plot to seal them on the Balmera and steal their Lions, the situation has now turned from bad to worse. Zarkon has sent another Robeast to fight against the team. Now Marcus and Voltron were standing side by side.

"Oh, no!" Pidge said.

"Please tell me there's not a giant monster in there. Please tell me it's empty! Or full of space candy. One of those two. Either one is fine," Hunk begged to no one in particular.

"I don't think it's a piñata, Hunk," Lance said in a serious tone.

"What are we dealing with, RC," Marcus asked, while he was sweating in his helmet.

" **My bio-scan detects that there's lifeform of that ship,"** RC said, with Marcus in control of her body. **"Also, just like the monster that attacked us on Arus, it's mixed with technology, dark magic, and quintessence."**

"If it's the same kind of monster that attacked us on Arus, we already know how to beat it," Keith said. He then put his Bayard into the controls of the Lion. This active Voltron to summoning its giant saber. Pidge then did the same, making the wings move off the mighty robot's back and formed the shield. Marcus floated off the ground and got ready to fight, with both the energy ax and broadsword, and RC's missile pod out.

"Hold your ground!" Shiro commanded.

About three seconds later, the ship opened. Revealing a monster that was much more alien-looking than the first one. It was red with sharp teeth and tentacle like arms with the suckers on it. The creature looked up at the team and its eyes rotated to the front of its face, before the green lights turned on. In its red vision, it looked onto Voltron.

Then a laser cannon on its chest charged, before firing a green beam at the robot. Marcus watched as the laser was blocked by Voltron shield, but was still strong enough to push the giant machine back by a mile.

"It's not candy!" Hunk yelled in fear.

"And it's not the same monster!" Lance exclaimed. Frantically, Voltron dodged the chest cannon blasts. Pushing the shield away and spinning out of the way.

"We need to draw its fire away from the Balmera's surface!" Marcus said, flying towards the creature—Drazil—with Voltron coming right behind him. Flying the robot over the surface. The monster fired another shot at both robots, but they dodged them easily.

Drazil jumped into the air and shot a blast from its chest at Voltron. As the Paladins protected themselves with the shield, Marcus flew RC right for the monster. Both melee weapons ready to cut into the monster. But just as he was half way to the creature, one of Drazil's eyes turned to him and fired.

" **Moore, evade!"** Marcus quickly flew right, but the laser hit the ax in his Titan's left hand, destroying it and knocking it out of RC's grip. Marcus looked at where the ax landed, seeing it almost completely melted. Cursing under his breath, the Pilot placed the energy broadsword in the left hand and grabbed the Chaingun with RC's right hand.

He flew back to rejoin with Voltron, as the robot dodged another attack from the monster. The giants faced each other while hovering a few feet off the ground, circling each other.

Drazil fired another laser at Voltron, but Voltron few away from it. Marcus hip-fired the Chaingun, but the monster fired at him with its eye laser. Making him dodge it too. But this gave Voltron an opening. The Paladin charged and swung the saber, but the monster ducked under the slash.

It then fired at Voltron again with its eye laser, hitting Voltron in the chest. But the robot recovered and dodged my attacks.

As Drazil's focused more on Voltron, Marcus came up from behind and started shooting at its back and launching missiles at it. The explosions from the missiles and the hits it took got the monster's attention, but out in the way the Marcus though. One of its eyes turned all the way to the back of its head. Marcus quickly flew down to before it fired.

" **Moore, we will not survive long against an attack of that magnitude,"** RC said, as Marcus landed nearby the fight to catch his breath. **"One hit will take out the shields, leading to an extended period to wait before they come back online."**

"And a second one will be the end of us." Marcus predicted correctly.

Voltron quickly turned and raised its shield to defend against another blast. "We can't hold out!" Lance shouted to the other Paladins.

"My Lion's weakening!" Pidge exclaimed. "If the shield sustains structural damage, we're done for!"

Keith came into the conversation. "Pidge is right!"

Lance took offense that he didn't get recognition first. "Oh, _Pidge_ is right. I'm the one that said, 'We can't hold out!'"

Keith had no time for Lance meaningless insecurity and called out, "Lance, watch your footing!"

Too late. The Blue Lion tripped over a small hill during Lance's lack of focus, making Voltron fall over and crash down on the ground. Its shield splitting in half, but luckily the mighty robot missed being struck.

"You guys okay," Marcus asked, before flying away from another laser beam.

The Paladins groaned from the painful fall. "Okay, Team Voltron, disband!" The Lions split apart and flew in different directions. "Everyone, evasive maneuvers! It can't shoot us all at once!"

Unfortunately, they were proven wrong. Drazil spread its arms wide, revealing how they are covered in laser cannons, and fired all of them in a bombardment that the Paladins and Marcus.

"Holy shit!" Marcus yelled and control RC to dodge all the lasers that came his way, just like the Lions. "Okay, it can do that too."

This went on for a few seconds, with the Paladins scrambling to avoid being hit. Drazil was then hit in the back by the Castle of Lions in the sky, momentarily frees the Paladins from the onslaught and staggers the monster. But Drazil responded by firing a massive blast back. Allura and Coran groaned as the weakened Castleship struggled to sustain its particle barrier when it was assaulted by the retaliating strike.

Alarms blared around her as she looked up at a screen that the monster and the fighting. "Where does Zarkon get these beasts from?" She questioned. "And how do they keep finding us?"

"Princess, the particle barrier won't sustain much longer," Coran said looking at his now red holoscreen. "It's still not at full strength after the blast from the Galra ship."

"Keith, try to draw its fire! I'm coming in from above!" Shiro ordered, before Marcus appeared on his screen.

"It's no use," Marcus said. "I tried that, and it didn't work." Shiro grunted and pulled away with Keith in tow. Marcus turned around as he flew backwards, and fired at the monster. The monster looked at him as the bullets bounced off and fired at the Titan. But Marcus pulled away at the last second to avoid being hit. "We need to find its blind spot!"

"I don't think this thing _has_ a blind spot," Lance said, as Hunk frantically dodged the lasers in the Yellow Lion. "It has a thousand eyes."

" **Actually, the total number of…"**

"I know it doesn't have a thousand eyes, I was exaggerating!"

"What do we do? Fighting this thing is like fighting an entire fleet at once!" Pidge exclaimed, still dodging the lasers. Keith flew up next to her.

"I think we've got to aim for those laser eyes and take them out," the Red Paladin said.

"If I can get in close enough, I may be able to destroy an eye with my broadsword," Marcus said, putting away the Chaingun and grabbing the energy broadsword with both Titan hands.

"We'll cover you from up here!" Allura proclaimed to Marcus.

The Castle of Lions fired a few laser shots at Drazil. It didn't even dent the monster as it turned and fired its chest cannon, before firing all arm laser cannons at the ship.

"We've lost the spectral generator!" Coran yelled to the princess. But as more screens popped up with malfunctions and damaged areas, the advisor started to panic. "Going to reserve! There's a fire in VIN bay three! Suppressors on! Suppressors out!" After freaking out and hair-grabbing outbursts, he then looked back to Allura with a panicked expression. "Princess, the ship is being torn apart!"

"We're taking heavy fire up here! We're in trouble!" Allura shouted to the Paladins.

Marcus made a dash for the arms, but wasn't even able to get to it before being hit by one of the laser eyes. He yelled in pain as his Titan was knocked into a mountain.

Allura looked with worried and panicked eyes. "MARCUS!"

Marcus grunted as he stood RC up. Her body had steam coming off it with from the superheated blast, and alarms were blaring. **"Shield is depleted. Minimal structural damage. Moore, look out!"** Marcus looked and dodged just before a laser could finish him off.

He few at a safe distance as the monster and called up to the Castle. "Allura, get out of here! It's not safe for you here, now!"

"We will not abandon you!" Allura proclaimed, wanting to stay.

"You're not abandoning us. Shiro, we need to pull back and think of another plan." Marcus said, running towards the mine shaft and jumping down into it.

"Marcus is right. We have to." Shiro said. "Lions, to the mine shafts! It's the only place the monster can't get us."

The Shiro, Keith, and Hunk followed Marcus into the mine shafts. Lance and Pidge went down into their own mine shaft. In the sky, Allura pulled the Castleship into orbit, out of the monster's range of fire.

* * *

Down at the bottom of the shaft, the Titan landed on its feet from the long drop. Marcus popped the hatch and jumped out, just as the Black, Red, and Yellow Lion descend and landed at the bottom. He sighed and pulled off his helmet. This wasn't going to be easy. With that thing up there having no blind spots and having the power to destroy him in two hits, he felt like a burden to the team.

As the Paladins exited their Lions, Shay's family enter into the shaft and approached the team. Marcus ran towards them with the others. "What is happening," asked Rax.

"There's a monster up there that Zarkon sent to destroy us," Keith explained.

"A monster? Will Zarkon's savagery never abate? Perhaps our people were never meant to be free." Shay somberly said with her eyes looking down. Seeing her daughter losing hope, Shay's father held her in his arms.

"Shay, don't give up. Zarkon's power grows with every planet he conquers, but he's weakened by every being that fights back," Hunk said, wanting her to continue believing in freedom.

"Fight back? Against a monster like that? How?" She asked skeptically and with no hope.

"I don't know, but we can beat it." Hunk turned to Keith. "Tell her, Keith."

"Can we?" Keith asked

"Yes, we can!" Shiro proclaimed, bring everyone's attention to him. "This is our first mission and we're not going to fail. We can beat it. We just need some time to come up with a plan."

"See? Told you we can," Hunk said. "Thanks, Shiro." Their encouraging moment was interrupted by the sound of the Balmera groaning in pain and the shaft around them trembling and crumbling underfoot. The aliens, Paladins, and Pilot were startled by this. "Do you guys feel that over there?"

 _ **Lance and Pidge**_

"Yeah, we feel it," Lance replied on their communicator.

"It's that sound again. What is that?" Pidge asked, as the mine was rumbling and crumbling all around them too.

 _ **Marcus, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk**_

As the ground began cracking apart, Shay's grandmother placed her hand on it. The Balmera stilled, and the family looked mournful. Rax looked up at the heroes and stood to his feet. "That great noise comes from the Balmera itself. Our home crumbles beneath our feet. The Balmera is dying."

Marcus's eyes widened, as the surface bent and slightly uplifted. He placed his helmet back on and contacted Allura and Coran over the communication channel. "Coran, Allura, are you there?"

 _ **Allura and Coran**_

"We're here, Marcus," Allura answered.

"The Balmera—" Marcus tried to explain, but was interrupted by Coran.

"We already know," he told the Pilot, typing away on the holographic computer. Pulling up a scan of the planet's vitals. "Our scanners are showing the life energy draining from the Balmera."

 _ **Marcus, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk**_

In the mine shaft, RC her optic's holographic display, showing the same vitals as Coran was looking at to the three Paladins and her Pilot. "How does this happen," Marcus asked the advisor, as the vitals showed the life of the living planet disappearing.

 _"Removing crystals from a Balmera is like removing a vital part of the mighty beast. The Balmera needs time to regenerate itself to stay healthy, but the Galra's greed may have cost this noble Balmera its life."_

"So, what's gonna happen?" asked Hunk.

 _"Its core will collapse, destabilizing the entire skeletal structure. Anything or anyone remaining on the Balmera at that point will be crushed into dust."_

This shocked the humans. Shiro got a grip and put on a serious face. "How long before its core collapses?"

 _"Probably a matter of hours. The mighty organism willingly gives itself to all, but not all return its kindness."_ Marcus looked to the Balmerans with an expression of sympathy.

He then called Allura. "Allura, we need to get these people off the planet," this brought him, surprised looks from his team and the Balmerans. "I know it's risky, but there's no other option. And you know that."

 _ **Allura and Coran**_

Standing on the Bridge, the princess understood the Pilot and knew it was the right call. "Then our time is short. We'll evacuate the planet. We need to get all the Balmerans to the Castle of Lions before the planet implodes."

Next to Marcus's screen, Shiro and Hunk appeared on another screen. _"Okay, that sounds like a good plan, but how on Earth do you plan on landing the Castle with that monster-thingy on the surface?"_ the Yellow Paladin asked.

Then Pidge appeared on the Castleship's screen. _"You'll need a distraction."_

 _"We'll engage the beast in our Lions. With it distracted, Allura and Coran will land the Castle and load all of its citizens."_ Shiro said.

Then Lance appeared in Pidge's screen space. _"Or we could load Balmerans into our Lions a few at a time and shuttle them to the ship. No engaging ferocious laser-eye guy. How long would that take?"_

"Days? Weeks?" Coran estimated.

Keith then poked his head into the screen with Shiro and Hunk. _"We only have hours."_

 _ **Marcus, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk**_

"Look, we don't need to beat this thing _,"_ Marcus said, with Shiro nodding his head. "We just need to bait it away from the ship. Provoke and evade."

Hunk though for a moment. "Okay, here's the thing. I'm worried that we're going to be really, really good at the provoking part, and then like really bad at the evading part," he said, before getting serious again. "But if—if this is what it takes to save Shay and everyone on the planet, then I'm in."

Keith turned to Shay and asked, "Can you contact the other Balmerans?"

"I can, but I know not what they'll say," Shay sadly informed the heroes. "Leave the planet? Our home?"

 _ **Allura and Coran**_

"It's the only option. I'm coming down," Allura told the team.

Coran turned his head to face her with wide eyes. "Princess, no! It's too dangerous!"

Allura looked determined. "Someone has to be there to lead these people out."

 _ **Marcus, Shiro, Keith, and Hunk**_

" **Princess, I'll be the one to bring you down to the surface,"** RC said, surprising the humans as she walked to the center of the bottom and placed her new energy broadsword on her back. **"I'm fast enough to evade that creature's attack and I'll be able to take a hit before I'm vulnerable."**

Marcus nodded. "I'll wait for you to get back and then join the fight," he told the Titan.

"Then we have a plan B," Shiro told his team. "Let's do this."

* * *

Lance and Pidge launched their Lion from the mine shaft behind Drazil, getting its attention for a moment to turn its head. Then RC rocketed out of the mine shaft in front of him. But before Drazil could turn back around, the Red, Yellow, and Black Lion shot its chest with their laser and flew out of the shaft. With the creature's attention on them, they dodged its lasers as Drazil chased after them. Flying with the use of its thruster.

RC flew up towards the Castleship at top speed. Entering into its shuttle hangar, she landed with a metallic thud right in front of Allura, who had a helmet Titan then lowered herself with a hand on the ground to act like a step, and opened the hatch. **"Get in and prepare yourself for Titanfall."**

Allura nodded and stepped in. Remember how she saw Marcus do it, she turned around and sat in the seat. The chair's straps closed around her limbs and the hatch closed. But she wasn't in control, only going along for the ride. "What is…Titanfall?" She asked in curiosity.

" **It is how Titans are launched into battle,"** RC said, as her screen activated, and Allura saw what the Titan was seeing. **"This involves the Titan being launched out of a starship hangar bay at hyper-sonic velocities in a manner similar to a Drop Pod. Allowing the Titan to arrive on the ground with extreme precision in under a minute."**

As Allura marveled at what she was told, Shiro contacted her. Appearing on a screen in RC. "Princess, we've lured the monster away. It's time."

"I'll contact you all when I'm on the ground." Allura said as RC walked up to the edge of the hangar. Was she nervous? Yes. She's never done anything like this before. But she swallowed that fear and prepared herself for the ride.

" _Be careful out there."_ Her trusted advisor said to her over the ship's intercom. Then a green dot appeared on RC's screen. It was where Marcus was called down his Titan.

"We're ready, RC," Marcus said on a screen.

" **Copy that. Stand by for Titanfall."**

RC leaned forwards, tipping over the edge.

Allura grasped the seat with wide eyes.

The Titan fell right out of the hangar front first, before the momentum brought her head down and feet up. That's when she activated her thrusters and flew straight down towards the surface. Allura grunted as she was pushed back into her seat. She could feel her adrenaline pumping as the RC carried her to the surface.

Drazil saw her and was about to attack, only for the Lions to intercept and attack it. Throwing its attention away from Allura and RC.

Allura saw the Titan approaching the mining shaft that Marcus was in. when entering, RC turned her body upright and used the thrusters to slow herself down. About three seconds later, and they were haft way down in the tunnel. That's when RC stopped using her thrusters and allowed gravity to take her the rest of the way.

Marcus was standing with the Balmerans, watching as RC came falling down. The Titan successfully landed in a kneeling position. Allura grunted from the impact, but wasn't really affected as she thought she'd be. This was due to the reinforced springs that the chair was on top of taking the force of the landing.

The hatch opened and Allura stepped out onto the Balmera. RC stood up and stood guard with her Chaingun. "I'm on the ground," she said to Shiro.

" _Hurry! I don't know how long we can hold this thing off."_

Allura ran over to where Marcus and the Balmerans were. "Shay, I'm going to need your help," she said to the young female alien.

Allura placed her hand on the tunnel wall. "Have you contacted the other Balmerans?"

Both the princess and the Pilot stared at the family as they averted their eyes, dejecting.

"What is it? What's going on?" Marcus asked the Balmerans.

It was Shay who answered the two saviors. "All Balmerans give thanks for the kindness you and the Paladins bestowed upon us, but, alas, we cannot take leave of our home."

Marcus and Allura were shocked by this. "What? You can't be serious!" Marcus exclaimed.

"If our great Balmera's life cycle is over because of us, then our desire is to stay with it until the end."

"But you'll never survive," Allura said.

"We contacted the others, and all agree," said Rax, getting their attention. "It's not right that you risk your lives for us. Please, away. We ask for no more guilt and shame upon us."

"It is our wish. The wish of all Balmerans," Shay concluded, as her family accepted their fate.

Marcus was silent for a moment. He couldn't believe it. These people were really going to let themselves be destroyed. He yanked off his helmet and glared at them. "Well, I say fuck that!" He exclaimed, getting a gasp from Allura and confused looks from the rock aliens. "We're not giving up on you! I won't give up on any of you, even if I have to go to hell and back!"

"But we do not ask this of you. Please!" Shay begged the Pilot.

"I heard you, but now you're going to listen to me." Marcus took a step forward and stood tall and proud. Allura looked at him with wide eyes. "Please, let me speak to your people. Can you get a message to them from me?"

"There is no need _us_ to speak for you," said Shay's grandmother. Getting up and walked to Marcus. Gently grabbing his hand, she led him to Allura and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Your princess has a unique power within. Through her, the Balmera will carry your words."

Marcus was confused and looked at Allura. He gasped. Allura wondered what startled him and turned to where he was gazing towards. Then she gasped recoiled at the sight of the wall glowing where she had her hand on.

"Speak your heart, child. All can hear you." The grandmother took Allura's hand and placed it back on the wall.

Allura and Marcus looked at each other, before nodding in agreement. With his hand on her shoulder, Allura focused. Marcus closed his eyes and spoke his heart to the Balmerans all over the living planet.

"Balmerans, my name is Marcus Moore. I'm a Titan Pilot from the Frontier, and friend of Voltron and Princess Allura of Altea. You don't know me, but I am here to help. I know what it's like to watch your home be destroyed. The Frontier's been the only home I've ever known. For years, our lands have been turned in a warzone. My people have been fighting an enemy that forcefully takes our resources…polluting and destroying our planets…and killing us off if we tried to resist. Even though I'm not a Paladin, and I'm a long way from home, I refuse to give up. And now, you all have the same choice. You can decide now to devote your lives to making sure this never happens to another planet. I can't tell you how sorry I am for what's happened to the Balmera, but I beg you, do not let its dying be in vain. Honor the Balmera's death by refusing to give up. Join us in our fight against the Galra!"

A soft hand was placed on his hand. Marcus opened his eyes and saw Allura staring at him with a smile and tears on the bridge of her eyes. Taking her other hand off the wall, the princess turned to the Pilot and said gratefully, "Thank you, Marcus."

Marcus looked a little embarrassed. "For what?

"For being here with us," she said genuinely.

"And thank you." The two turned to see Shay's grandmother having placed her own hand on the wall to hear the responses of the other Balmerans. "Your words have touched our hearts. You've given us reason to hope again."

Allura let go of Marcus's hand and her face changed to a serious expression. She placed her hand onto the wall again and contacted the Balmerans "Everyone, head to the caves just under the surface." The princess turned to Marcus. "I know that what to get back into the fight, but I'll need your help in getting these people to safety."

Marcus nodded. "Just tell me and RC what you need."

* * *

 _"Princess, Marcus's speech must have worked. The Balmerans are moving toward the surface!"_ Coran said on the comms.

On the surface of the Balmera, Marcus was inside RC and standing near the mine shaft. Allura, Shay and her Family stood nearby after he carried them all up to the top. Looking down into the mines, he was stunned to see so many Balmerans appearing out of tunnels and started climbing to the surface.

"He's right, they're all coming," he said.

Allura turned to the sky and the Castleship. "We're on the surface, Coran. Triangulate my position. This is your landing zone," she called Coran. The Balmera began to tremble again and Allura used RC's leg to not off over.

" _Yes, Allura. Readying ship. Castle of Lions, coming in! Paladins, how are you holding up?"_

After getting struck by, Keith piloted the Red Lion to dodge lasers from Drazil. "I think we've got him pretty distracted. Are the Balmerans in position?"

"They're making their way to the top," Allura said, joining Marcus and looked at the Balmerans made their way up the mining shaft.

Slowly climb towards the surface with the use of ladders and working together. All of their attention was then caught by the sound of the Castle of Lions. Marcus and Allura turned towards the ship as it landed just outside the mine shaft. The Pilot felt a sense of relief in his chest. They were finally going to end this struggle.

Coran descended to the surface in a transport pod. He opened the doors and motioned for Balmerans to enter. "Bring them out! Hurry, now!" The Balmera suddenly rumbled violently.

Causing the mine shaft to start crumbling, with two rocks breaking off from the sides of the hole along with debris to fall down mine shaft. Crushing the ladders the Balmerans were using to climb up, and almost crushing some of the aliens.

"No!" Allura screamed in horror. The two boulders went crashing down the Balmera as the creature moaned in pain.

RC scanned the shaft. Looking for any casualties among the population. But surprisingly, there were no lives that've been killed. All they did was scream and panic, jumping out of the way of the rocks. **"Princess, I'm detecting no casualties among the Balmerans,"** the Titan informed the princess, as Coran ran towards them.

"It's on the verge of collapsing! We have to go!" He exclaimed.

Allura turned to Coran. "But the Balmerans!" She cried out.

"They're trapped! What can be done? Time is short!" Rax said, as the Balmera shook again.

"I'll try to get as many of them up as I can!" Marcus turned RC around and jumped down into the shaft.

* * *

Meanwhile, with the Paladins, they were dodging Drazil's lasers in their Lions. But each of the lasers were hitting the Balmera.

"Every hit weakens the Balmera," Hunk exclaimed into the radio. "Have you evacuated yet? What's happening?"

Coran appeared on his screen. _"The Balmerans are trapped and Marcus's doing whatever he can. Just keep distracting that beast!"_

"Uh, do you want us to distract it by dying? Because that's what's going to happen!"

Shiro then said, "Guys, remember when I said we didn't have to beat it?"

"Yes, I remember that."

"Well, we might have to beat it."

* * *

As she stood with Shay and her family, along with other Balmerans that were saved, Allura looked over the mine shaft. RC came back up with more Balmerans in her arms.

Marcus placed them down on the ground, and Allura ran up to him. "You've got to hurry!" She yelled with urgency. He was taking too long to save them all and the planet was going to collapse at any moment.

"You try doing this!" Marcus snapped in frustration. The planet shook again. "RC, how much more can we keep this up."

" **With the planet's condition getting worse, I estimate that we'll only be able to rescue only 10% of the population."**

With the situation getting bleaker, Shay succumbed to despair by crouching down and clenched her head with her hands. "We're lost! All are trapped with no chance for escape!" She cried out.

Allura kneeled down and placed her hand on Shay's shoulder. "We can't give up," she said to calm her.

"But what can be done," the Balmeran asked.

Marcus was about to say something to reassure her, but then something caught his attention. His eyes widened behind his helmet, as the ground beneath the Castle of Lions was glowing and appeared revitalized. Allura and Shay also saw it. "What's going on?" the Pilot asked.

"The Balmera... The ground beneath your mighty ship appears healed," Shay said with amazement. "Its essence thrives. But, how?"

"The Castle's healing the planet," Allura asked.

Shay's mother smiled at the princess. "Not just the Castle, but you as well."

"It's true," said Coran. The ground under Allura was now glowing too. "Your Altean energy combined with the ship's Crystal has revitalized this part of the Balmera."

Allura gasped and stood up. "That's it! Maybe we can perform the ceremony you spoke about. We can save the Balmera."

RC's head turned to him. "What ceremony," Marcus asked.

"In the days of old, when Alteans were given the gift of Crystals from a Balmera, we would repay its sacrifice by performing a ceremony," Coran said, as RC's screen pulled up a small screen that showed an Altean standing in front of a Crystal coming out of the ground with Balmerans kneeling around him. Showing him place his hands on the crystal and making it glow. "A sacred Altean would re-infuse the Balmera with Quintessence. In this way, we had a symbiotic relationship."

 **"The Galra have only been taking,"** RC said. **"It's time we give back."**

Allura looked up at the Titan and nodded. She then made her way to the spot that was glowing under the ship. Marcus, Coran, and the Balmerans followed her. "I can connect with the Crystal in the Bridge and use the Castle's power as an amplifier."

But then Coran stopped her by saying. "When your father performed the ceremony, it was on a much smaller scale," he said to warn her. "I beg you. To heal an entire planet, it could take more energy than you possess. You may not... live through it."

Marcus's eyes widened behind his helmet. He knew that sacrifices were going to be made in this war, but Allura was someone he would never let die. She was the one that brought them all together. "There's really no other way? Are you sure?"

Allura placed her hand on Coran and looked to the Titan. "I know you're scared for me, you two, but I must try."

Marcus was hesitant for a moment, before taking a step back. Shay contacted the other Balmerans to tell them of their plan to perform the ceremony, wanting all to help.

As Allura stood beneath the Castle of Lions, Shay's family surrounded her. They got on their knees and placed their palms against the ground. Resonating with the Balmera and the rest of the Balmerans, as those that Marcus saved and those that were still underground placed their hands on the living planet. Allura closed her, leaned back and faced upwards, and held out her arms. The Crystal of the Castleship connected with Allura by enveloping her in a beam of light.

Marcus and Coran watched in amazement as the spot that was being healed grew larger.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Paladins continued to flee from Drazil's bombardment of laser fire without landing many damaging hits in. the creature simply flew towards them with its arm spread out and firing one of its many lasers at a time. Shiro turned around and shot at, but it didn't do much of anything. It only prompted the monster to step up its attack. Spinning as it unleashed more lasers.

Keith grunted as he felt a hit on his Lion. "Guys, this isn't working," he said in frustration. "We'll never take this beast down in our Lions."

"Well, forming Voltron didn't work, either," said Pidge.

"Not without some way to shoot all those laser eyes at once," Lance said was a frown.

Hunk though for a moment that they weren't going to be able to win, until something caught his attention. The Yellow Lion displayed the keyhole console for Hunk's Bayard, just like the one that the Red Lion showed for Keith. "That's weird. What are you trying to tell me," he asked the ancient weapon. He then summoned his Bayard from his right hip. "Guys! Guys, something's happening here! I-I think there is a way to take down all those laser eyes at once."

"Well, what is it?" Pidge asked as she and the other dodged the lasers.

"Do you remember how Voltron formed that sword with Keith's Bayard? I think my Lion's telling me I can do the same thing with my Bayard."

"Are you sure," Keith asked.

"Let's find out. Form thingy!" Hunk yelled and inserted his Bayard into the keyhole console. But nothing happens. "It didn't work!"

"Because we didn't form Voltron yet," Shiro told him.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I know."

"Guys, whatever we're planning, let's hurry up and do it." Pidge dodged under a laser.

However, the situation changed as Drazil turned its head noticed the Castle of Lions nearby. Growling and moved in to attack. Shiro saw this and called to Marcus. "Marcus! Look out!"

Marcus heard him and turned towards the monster, gasping when he saw Drazil coming to destroy the Castleship. He glared at it and jumped up, before flying at the enemy. Pulling out the Chaingun, he started firing at it and moving around it, trying to get its attention.

"We've got to defend the Castle!" Shiro shouted. "Everyone, follow me. Form Voltron!"

Marcus stopped in front of Drazil after seeing that nothing was going to get it to turn around from the Castleship. He then saw that it made a giant ball created from the lasers on its arms. However, before it could fire, the Paladins used the Red Lion's mouth cannon to shoot and hit the monster in the chest. Successfully drawing Drazil's attention.

The now formed Voltron landed on the ground behind Marcus's Titan, joining him between Drazil and the Castle of Lions. The Hunk's Bayard then summoned a giant shoulder cannon to counterattack Drazil's energy blast. Marcus decided to power up too and activated Burst Core.

Drazil charged up another energy ball. This time making it larger by using all of its arm lasers. Then fired a large laser beam.

Marcus flew low to the ground, as Voltron fired its shoulder cannon.

Both lasers collided. The warriors are largely at a standstill, but Drazil's blast slowly began overpowering the Paladins and threatened to harm the Castleship.

"It's not enough!" Shiro grunt in the struggle.

"I've got it!" Marcus yelled, flying towards the monster and fired the Chaingun. Finally getting critical hits on Drazil, with the Arc round hitting some of the arm lasers.

This made Drazil roar in pain as it lost focus on its big laser, making the trajectory of the cannon tilt ever so slightly to move its beam away from the Castle, narrowly missing it.

This seemed to anger the monster, and it began firing multiple lasers and Voltron and RC. But the two robots flew away from the Castleship, leading the lasers away as well. Marcus grunted in his seat as he dodged every shot with Voltron. Taking a few more short bursts of rounds at the monster. Hit it and leaving some holes. But it wasn't enough.

"Why wouldn't it die!" The Pilot yelled in frustration.

Then, Hunk's computer pulled up a screen. Showing the Yellow Paladin pinpoints that were locking on to all of the Robeast's laser eyes. "Are you guys seeing this?"

"Seeing what?" Marcus asked.

"I think Voltron's locking onto the laser eyes."

"Let's see what this thing can do. Engage!" Shiro shouted and the shoulder cannon reappeared again.

Flying out of the way, Marcus watched as his friends fired a shower of energy bullets at once. Each and every one of them hit all of Drazil's eyes, making the monster stagger back. It was forced on one knee, with purple electricity on its arms, and was rendered still.

Meanwhile, Allura was ready. She got down on one knee and placed her hands on the Balmera's surface. Performing the rejuvenation ceremony. The Paladins and Marcus watched in amazement as the blue light of the quintessence spread across the Balmera. "Guys, look!" Shiro shouted. Soon the Balmera was covered by the blue light. Spreading over all the rocks and Galra structures, as it healed.

Then it all vanished, and Voltron and RC landed softly on the ground. However, after the quintessence was absorbed into the Balmera, Drazil suddenly and simultaneously snarled and lifted its head. It then stood up and fired at Voltron again, making the Paladins turn and run from the lasers.

Marcus growled in frustration, putting back the Chaingun and pulling out RC's energy broadsword. The Burst Core supercharged the blade and making it more powerful. With bolts of purple electricity sparking off it and making the blade larger than before. Making it almost a little bigger than RC. "I've had enough of this crap!"

He then charged at the monster with the enlarged energy broadsword. He let out a battle cry and Keith delivered the final blow.

Stabbing the sword into Drazil. The result was the monster flying backwards, with the sword being pulled out. The Balmerans witnessed the massive monster flying over the opening of the mine shaft. The Robeast falls to the ground in a heap on the other side, lying still and then powering down. It was finally over.

With the Burst Core reached its limit, the broadsword returned to normal. All was silent as the battle was over.

As Allura finished the ceremony, she was released from the energy of the Castle of Lions. She sighed and groaned, before falling over on her side. Shay ran over to her and crated the brave princess in her arms. "Princess, are you all right," she asked.

Behind her, RC landed, and Marcus jumped out. Running to Allure and kneeling next to Shay. Allura appeared to be unconscious at first, but opened her eyes a moment later. She looked up at the Pilot, Shay, and Coran as he came over.

"Did it work," she asked in an exhausted tone.

Rax had his hand on the ground as he answered. "Yes. The Balmera lives. It thanks you," he said with a kind smile. Allura smiled, as the Paladins exit their Lions and arrive to check on her. Everything was going to be okay.

" **Pilot!"** Marcus turned to RC and saw her in a fighting stance with the Chaingun. To his and everyone's wide-eyed horror, Drazil re-engaged a second time. Ready to destroy the entire group of heroes as they stood exposed.

As the Paladins weren't going to be able to get back in their Lions, Marcus ran back to RC and jumped to her. The Titan grabbed him and placed him into her.

"No! Marcus, don't do it!" Allura shouted and reached out to him. He wasn't going to last against the Robeast and that's what scared her. But Marcus didn't care, as the monster charged another laser attack. He was going to put his life on the line for his friends. Marcus flew RC to attack.

But his sacrifice was something the Balmera would not allow.

Marcus stopped when the Balmera moaned. Then, underneath the feet of Drazil, crystals began to rise up. Encasing the savage Robeast along the outside, as well as from the inside-out, with crystals forming and popping out of the chest cannon. Disabling Drazil as it roared, before getting frozen over in place.

"My God," Hunk said in amazement.

"What happened," Marcus asked when he turned back to the team.

"The Balmera just saved us," Coran said.

" **Marcus, look."** RC said, and Marcus looked down at the planet. He and the team were shocked beyond belief, as well as delighted to see crystals beginning to form across the surface of the Balmera. **"Scanning…Balmera has now returned to its full health. We did it."**

"Oh, who's a good Balmera?" Marcus heard Hunk and turned to see him on his knees and actually petting the planet like it was a dog. Just like the Pilot, Shiro, Keith, and Lance looked unamused. "You are. Who ate the big monster? You did. Yes, you did. Yes, you did."

"Dude, what are you doing," Keith asked.

"What? It's alive, and it _wuvs_ my _scwatches_ ," Hunk responded. Keith could only facepalm.

* * *

After the battle has ended, Marcus sat with atop his Titan with his helmet off. The sky had started to clear from the mist and clouds that covered the Balmera's. Showing that it was night on the living planet, and with the crystals glowing, it made quite a sight.

In his head, Marcus knew that there were going to be tougher battles to come. But he's not going anywhere. This war was much bigger than the one going on back home. Zarkon and his Galra Empire are destroying lives all over the universe. But he was a part of a team that can change that.

 **"Are you alright, Marcus?"**

Marcus smiled and patted RC's top. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

The two of them remained silent for a moment, before RC said to her Pilot. **"The princess is happy that you remain with her and the Paladin,"** she said, looking out at the landscape. Her head looked up. **"And…I'm happy to have you as my Pilot."**

Marcus was a little surprised by her. She sounded genuine with her statement. He smiled at RC. "And I couldn't have asked for a better Titan." RC brought her fist up to him and Marcus gave her a fist bump. As the robot put her arm down, Marcus noticed a sun rising on the horizon. Letting his body bathe in its warmth. He never realized that the Balmera was cold at night.

" **We did it. It's finished."**

"No," he said, standing up and continuing to stare at the sun. "I think we're just getting started."

The war has just begun.

* * *

 **And there we go with Chapter 7 of "Become ONE", and the second half of the Battle of the Balmera.**

 **This was definitely and interesting one to do, because I had to figure out where Marcus could be more help in the situation. He wasn't going to able to help much against the Robeast, so why not have him help out Allura too?**

 **Having him help her also gives them more time together. Although some didn't have their families, race, and planets completely destroyed by the IMC, I think it's safe to say that the Paladins know what it's like to be in a position that's similar to Allura. With the war for the Frontier being a devastating one for everyone. And who knows, now that Allura has some kind of idea of what's going on in their home system, she'll ask Marcus to explain it to her.**

 **More sweet moments for the two!**

 **Plus, Allura was able to experience Titanfall. While it's not the same as in the games, it's still the same concept of RC dropping down from orbit.**

 **And now that I've gotten this arc done, the next three updates will have me finishing up season 1 of** _ **V:LD**_ **. Finally! So for now, I'm putting the story on Hiatus and will be moving on to working on "Heroes of Tomorrow," and finishing off season 1 for that story.**

 **Thank you very much for reading. "Become ONE" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


	9. Crystal Venom

**AN:**

 **Before we get started, I'm going to be canceling and deleting "Brave Soul Samurai" and "Longs Odds", and when that happens, they'll be replaced with a new story. I've put up a poll for you all to vote and it's pretty clear that "Godzilla: the Titan Slayer of Fairy Tail" is going to be the winner.**

 **Make sure to vote if you haven't and now let's get started.**

* * *

 **"Crystal Venom"**

 **Moore's Logbook:**

 _The battle was won, and the team and I were victorious in saving the Balmera and its people from the Galra Empire. We had officially declared war against Zarkon._

 _Allura was weakened when she rejuvenated the planet, and RC was damaged during the battle. She would need to be fixed. But little did I know was that we still had a major threat inside of the Castleship that threatened everyone._

* * *

Marcus was in the hangar trying to fix RC's damage. Even with the shield that was granted to his Titan with the Quintessence batteries in her, she was still able to get damaged in the smallest of area. And in this case, the tanks on her back that regulates the oxygen that pumps fresh air into the cockpit after it's been taken from the carbon dioxide exhaled from her pilot.

As the Pilot was finishing up the repairs, the doors to the hangar slid opened and Coran walked in. "Hello, Marcus!" He called to the human.

Turning to the advisor and opening his visor, Marcus whipped his hands together. "Hey, Coran. What's the news," he asked, hooking the tool he was using back on the belt he was wearing. He was wearing his Pilot jumpsuit but without the armor plating. He'd peeled off the top part of the suit to be more comfortable as he worked, but was still wearing his tank-top. There were no other weapons except his Wingman in his holster.

"I'm looking for Allura. She's not in her room," said Coran after approaching the duo. This made Marcus concerned. The battle and the healing of the living planet had left her exhausted and she needed to rest.

RC's head looked up. **"Scanning...the princess is in the Memory Chamber of the castle,"** said the walking, taking war-machine.

Coran put a hand under his chin in a thinking manner, as Marcus looked confused. "It's possible that she's wanting to spend time with her father," he said, before looking to the Titan. "Thank you very much, RC. I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait, wait! What the hell are you talking about, Coran?" Marcus asked, jumping down from RC's back and took off his tool belt. He then took off his helmet and hooked it on his belt. "Allura's father was dead when Zarkon destroyed your home. How's she still be able to spend time with him?"

"He is dead, but Allura's able to talk with him in the Memory Chamber," the advisor said, as he led Marcus out of the hanger as they headed to the chamber. "King Alfor knew there was a chance he might die at any moment and will leave his daughter. So, his memories, his very being, were stored in the computer that is inside of the Memory Chamber."

* * *

Allura was indeed in the Memory Chamber. The computer creating a hologram of a wide flower field that was on Altea before it's destruction. The sky was blue and the sun was high in the sky. She still weakened from the rejuvenation ceremony she performed to save the Balmera. But this didn't stop her from spending her time enjoying the company of her father's artificial intelligence instead of resting.

"I loved the smell of the mountain juniberries in the early morning breeze," she said to her father's AI.

King Alfor was a tall, older Altean man with brown skin, white hair, and a white full beard. As an Altean, his ears were pointed at the top rather than rounded, and he had small sickle-shaped marks of light blue situated on his cheekbones, right under each of his blue eyes. The pupils of his eyes have a noticeable pink in the center of them. Alfor's hair was cut just above his shoulders and he had long bangs swept to the right of his face. The king wore royal white and gold armor with a blue cloak for his AI form.

"As did I, Allura," said the AI king to his daughter. The Atlean mice were working together to make a cup of tea for the princess.

"Remember the summer berry festival?" Allura asked her father, sitting with her arms on her knees. "People would come from all over Altea for the harvest."

The man of the hologram smiled. "I remember how the berry juice stained your favorite dress. You were so upset."

As the plate with the teacup hovered close to her, Allura laughed when remembering. "It took forever for Mother to calm me," she said with a smile. But the smile didn't last, as she remembered that everything that made her smile so fondly was gone. "I miss Altea so much. I miss you, Father. I wish it didn't have to be this way."

"I know, Allura, but, as leaders, we have to do what's right for our people, even if it means great sacrifice."

"I know, Father. That's what you always say." Just then the doors of the chamber opened before Coran and Marcus entered the room.

"Princess, there you are. What are you doing up and about? You should be resting," Coran said as he rushed over to the princess. Marcus slowed back as he looked around the chamber. His breath taken away by the sight of the scenery being created by the hologram.

His attention was brought back to Allura when she asked, "Oh, Coran, can't I stay?"

"Not after what you went through," Marcus said, walking over to her. He then kneeled down, and she grabbed his hand as he helped her stand up.

The presence of the Pilot made King Alfor's eyes widened. "Oh, is this one of the Paladins," he asked, looking at Marcus' attire with a hand under her chin. "You're not what I'd expected."

Allura giggled as Marcus looked to Coran with wide eyes. Looking down at his attire and realized that he was still in his red jumpsuit with the top half off. "No, father, this is Marcus Moore, our Titan Pilot and our greatest ally in our war," she said.

Coran came over and said, "And he's right, princess. The Balmera rejuvenation ceremony took a lot of you." He then nodded to Marcus. "Would you please help her back to her room."

"Of course," he said.

They stopped when King Alfor said, "Get your rest, darling. I will be here for you when you're well."

Allura smiled and said, "I love you, father. I'll see you soon." Marcus and Coran walked the princess out of the chamber as it powered down. The luscious field vanished and then the king was gone too. Coran left Marcus to take care of something important, and Marcus continued with Allura to her room.

Upon arriving, Marcus opened the sliding opens and guided the weakened princess to her bed. "Here you go," said the Pilot, helping her sit down. Allura then crawled herself under the covers and Marcus helped by tucking her in. Moving sheets and cover over and onto her as she snuggled in.

"I could've done it myself," Allura said with a bit of a teasing smile.

Marcus teasingly in return. "I know, but would you have stayed, or go back to the chamber?" He asked with a smirk. Allura pouted. But then giggled as Marcus laughed too. He stopped when Coran's voice can on the loudspeaker.

 _"Marcus, Pidge please come down to the detainment room."_

Marcus sighed and turned to leave. "I'll leave you to get some rest then," he said before exiting the room. Seeing him leave made Allura a little sad. She wanted to talk to him more. But she knew what the Paladins were doing was something important. With her eyes feels heavy, Allura pulled the sheets over her shoulder and laid down with the mice getting comfortable with her.

* * *

There was one still one unwelcomed guest on the Castle of Lions, and he would prove to be quite valuable. Marcus and the Paladins were gathered around the sleep pod holding that very same prisoner - Sendak. Coran was placing devices on Sendak's pod and when he pressed a button, it made an electronic beeping sound.

"Okay, guys, Sendak's almost all hooked up," said the royal advisor, before walking over to another pod-like deceive that was hooked up to the cryo-pod. He placed his hand in front of it and a holo-screen appeared. "But, look, I have to warn you, this technology was used to keep Altean memories alive, not to interrogate prisoners."

"Coran, we understand this isn't what the technology was meant for, but if we can extract Sendak's memories, we may gain valuable intelligence on Zarkon's troop locations," said Shiro in an attempt to convince the wary man. Hoping that this would work.

"Yeah, and then we can just be like..." Lance knocked on Hunk's head. "'Knock-knock.' 'Who's there?' 'The avenging fury of Voltron, son!'" He exclaimed, doing some weird hand movement.

"Fascinating," Pidge said with her nose pressed up against the glass. Scanning and observing everything about the device with curiosity on how it worked.

Marcus was also curious and looked to Coran. "So, how exactly does this work?"

"As the memories are extracted, they're written bit by bit on individual molecules of the micro-storage stands," exampled Coran as he typed away on the holo-screen.

"When I go, I want all the stuff in my brain store in a giant ship," Lance said in this dreamy tone.

"The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane, dumbass," Keith said sarcastically.

"More like a few pieces of sticky notes," Marcus said with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah? Well, the amount of information you have, Keith, could be..." Lance stopped, having trouble coming up with a comeback.

"Yeah?" Keith asked.

"Uh... it's less than what I have, bitch!" Lance replied, before crossing his arms and grew a smug look on his face.

Hunk encouraged him by yelling, "Oh, good one, Lance!" Keith rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Are they always like this?" Shiro asked Marcus, as the Pilot looked at the two friends with a deadpanned expression.

"Before Keith, it was me that got to deal with him," Marcus sighed. He then looked to Coran and saw Pidge moving all around the device that they were going to be using. "This is how you incorporated King Alfor's memories into the Castle of Lions?"

"Precisely, but it's never been attempted before on an unwilling participant," Coran replied and turned on the device. He backed away and all of them looked at Sendak. The memory storage device activated with a blue flash, but nothing appeared.

Hunk looked at the pod with an unsure expression. "Uh, is this what's supposed to be happening?"

"Let's give it some time," Shiro said.

And so Marcus, the Paladins, and Coran waited. All eyes were on Sendak and the pod. But the wait soon turned very, very long with no results. The stretch of time was starting to bore the team, with Hunk starting to sleep while standing up and rocking on his heels. But then he fell over and groaned. Continuing to snore in his sleep.

Bored out of there minds, Hunk and Lance were sitting down while Pidge, Marcus, Coran, Keith, and Shiro were still standing. The Black Paladin was still staring intensely at Sendak, while the Pilot was fidgeting with his Data-Knife. Keith was leaning against another cryo-pod when he said, "Well, I can't wait around any more. I'm gonna hit the training deck."

More time had passed with no results.

Coran was cleaning the pod Keith was leaning against, Pidge played with some device, Marcus was disassembling and reassembling his Wingman, Lance was looking Shiro who was still staring at Sendak, and Hunk was lying on the floor with his head down and flutter kicking. "Okay, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the lab. Maybe I can pull some information from Sendak's Galra Crystal," Pidge said before walking off.

Even _more_ time had passed with no results.

Marcus was laying on the floor on his back with his hands behind his head, sleeping a little. Hunk was sitting on the floor next to him. Lance as doing bicycle kicks in the air. Shiro was _still_ looking at Sendak. Coran was standing with his hand on his chin in a confused manner. "Time to feed the beast. I'm going to go make some breakfast," Hunk said.

This woke up Marcus. He groaned in frustration, slapping his hand on his face and sat up. "How long does it take to get everything out of a person?!"

"You have to remember, this isn't a normal procedure," Coran said, before stretching his arms as Lance stopped kicking and sat up. "Well, I'm afraid I can't wait here any longer, either. I have a million duties to attend to. Between that Galra Crystal infecting our system, and then fighting off those ships and performing the Balmeran rejuvenation ceremony, the old Castle of Lions has taken quite a beating. Every system needs to be recharged and repaired."

Marcus nodded and put on his helmet. "RC, are there any repairs that you need," he asked the Titan.

 _ **"Scanning...I'm experiencing a slight technical malfunction in my AI connection. You'll have to remove the**_ ** _Survival Evasion Resistance Escape Kit to repair this."_**

"What's that," asked Coran, hearing the Titan.

"It's a piece of equipment employed by the Frontier Militia's Special Recon Squadron," Shiro said, still looking at Sendak. "A SERE Kit is available in every active duty Vanguard-class Titan as a Pilot's last-ditch effort against enemy forces after their Titan has been rendered inoperable, and is only effective in assisting a pilot's escape and survival from the battlefield. It consists of a Data Knife, a Smart Pistol, and the corresponding Titan's AI core."

"Wait, what?!" Marcus exclaimed, jumping up to his feet. "You mean to tell me that RC had a _Smart Pistol?_ One of the most advanced weapons ever made!?"

Shiro smirked. "It's only to be used as a last resort, Marcus," he then continued looking at Sendak. "I'll stay. Somewhere in Sendak's mind is the information about Zarkon that we need."

Lance then stood up and stretched his back. "Okay, well, while you guys do that, I think I'm gonna get my chill on. Maybe kick back with a lemonade or space juice. Something."

He was about to walk away to leave before Coran stopped him by calling out to him. "Oh, hold on there, space juice. You're going to come and help me," he said.

Lance turned to look at him. "What? Why? Why me?" He asked before gesturing with his arm at Marcus. "Why not Marcus?"

"Because your activity isn't very important as his," Coran said, walking past him with his hands behind his back.

"Wait, did I say 'chill with a good lemonade'?" Lance asked, trying to get out of helping Coran. "I meant I gotta do homework."

But he also wasn't very.

"No, too late."

"Fine..." Lance groaned and walked after him.

Marcus slipped his arms through the sleeves of his jumpsuit and put it on completely. "Let us know if anything happens," he said, looking at Shiro. But the ex-Titan Pilot didn't respond, only stared at the sleeping prisoner. "Shiro?"

"Y-You got it." He replied after a delay.

Marcus looked worriedly at his friend, before walking away to exit the room.

* * *

In the kitchen of the ship, Hunk entered the room to get some food. He walked over to the dispenser and pressed a button, and the machine opened. "Maybe today, we try a little crème goo-lée," he said, grabbing one of the tubes that the goo came out of. He held up a bowl and cranked the tube's leaver.

But nothing came out of it.

Confused, Hunk looked at it and tried again. When it didn't come out, he started banging it on the side of the bowl. He grunted in annoyance when it still wouldn't give him the goo and looked inside the tube to see if it was clogged.

He pressed the button multiple times, moaning when it didn't work, only to get blasted in the face by a blob of goo. "Agh, my eye!" Hunk screamed as the machine started shooting everywhere, before getting shot in the butt.

Out in the hallway, Pidge was walking to the lab when she was almost hit by a piece of the food goo from the kitchen. She screamed and jumped back to avoid it, before looking through the door and gasped. The goo dispenser rapidly shooting goo everywhere and wiggling around like it was a firehose. Hunk was hiding behind the counter.

" _What_ is going on in here?!" Pidge yelled over the chaos.

"The goo has me pinned down!" Hunk cried out with tears in his eyes, pocking his head out of cover. He got hit again in the head. Groaning, he got back into cover.

Growling, Pidge ran over to Hunk and got behind the counter with him. She then pushed the button on the side of the counter and out came a drawer that had plates on a rack. Pidge pulled out two plates. "Okay, we're going to have to flank the goo to shut it down," she said, handed one of the plates to Hunk.

"Okay, wait. Wait!" Hunk stopped her by reaching out an arm. Pidge turned back to look at him. "It's been a pleasure cooking with you." Hunk saluted the Green Paladin. "Go!"

Hunk and Pidge rushed out of cover and ran to the goo dispenser from the right and left. Using the plates as shields as they were pelted with food-goo. Hunk would eat some. The Green Paladin jumped and pinned the goo dispenser tube down. Giving Hunk time to tie the tube in a knot, stopping it.

Overflowing, the tube grew bigger and goo started to leak out of the wall. Seeing this, Hunk and Pidge whimpered and moved away from it.

Pidge said, "Probably a malfunction?"

"Yeah, yeah... Guess the kitchen system needs to be rebooted, too," Hunk said.

The two looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, without moving their heads."Leave it for Coran?" asked Pidge.

Hunk nodded. With her hands behind her head, Pidge and Hunk whistled as they left the kitchen a mess.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the sleep chamber, Lance was cleaning one of the pods in the sleep chamber with Coran cleaning another. "Ugh...I know that 'you sleep in it, you clean it' was a rule back in the Militia, but since when did it become a Voltron rule?" Lance complained before stopped buffering and turned to look at Coran. "Also, how is it these pods have the ability to heal a human from near death, but don't have the ability to clean themselves?"

"Oh, self-cleaning pods. Now, that's a good one!" Coran said with a slight laugh. Finished with the cryo-pod he was cleaning, he walked away from it and the pod descended into the flood. The one then came up. "You know, this kind of reminds me of my time as a young cadet. I had just enlisted in the Altean space squad, aeronautics sub-tech nano-weaponry unit, and I was sent off to boot camp." He pressed a button on the cryo-pod and started to clean it.

Lance sighed and turned back to cleaning as Coran rambled on about his story. Entering the pod.

"Our sergeant had us cleaning cryo-pods day and night. I got so good at it, I earned my first set of stripes!"

Suddenly, the pod closed behind Lance. It wasn't unit he heard Coran's voice becoming quieter that he got confused and turned around. Realizing that he was trapped, the Blue Paladin started to panic. "Oh—Coran! Hey! Hey! H-Hey!" Lance screamed, banging on the screen to get Coran's attention.

"—Oh, those were the days," continued Coran, not hearing Lance's muffled screams behind him. The cryo-pod froze Lance in it and descended down into the floor. "Anyway, you keep up the good work and maybe someday you'll earn some cleaning stripes, too."

By the time Coran turned around, Lance was nowhere to be seen. "Lance? Lance!" He called out to the young man, before sighing nonchalantly and looked at the ground in disappointment. believing that Lance was shirking his duties. "Ah, Paladins...Aren't they all from a military?"

* * *

In the training deck, Keith was sparring the Gladiator robot using his Bayard. Blocking and parrying swings and swipes at him, before dodging under and with a grunt, he destroyed the Gladiator with a slash across its midsection, making it vanish.

Keith panted and wiped the sweat away from his face. Looking up, he said, "Start training level three."

A new Gladiator robot dispenses from the ceiling, landing on the ground and ran at Keith. The Red Paladin charged and battled the robot. However, the fight was starting to get too intense and Keith was having trouble keeping up and blocking the attacks. The fight ended when it hit him on the blade and he was sent flying across the room. Keith grunted in pain as he rolled across the room before getting back on his feet.

Panting in exhaustion, Keith then said, "End training sequence." Strangely, the system does not respond. The Gladiator robot started to walk towards Keith, forcing him to try again. "End training sequence!" The robot began rushing at him. "End training sequence, now!"

Keith raised his Bayard to block the Gladiator when it was about to hit him. The result was his Bayard flying out of his hand and landing across the ground. He was knocked aside by the Gladiator robot when it kicked him in the stomach. Keith grunted as he rolled on the ground.

Looking up towards the Bayard, Keith rushed towards it and the Gladiator tried to block him and attack. Using his agility, he dodged the robot's attack by getting on his knees and slides under a swipe of the sword and recovered his Bayard. He then got up and fleed into the hallway before closing the door behind him.

Believing that he was safe from the malfunctioning, Keith leaned against the wall. Panting in exhaustion.

Suddenly, the energy sword of the robot was stabbed between the doors. Keith back away when it turned, forcing the doors to open slightly. As he ran away, the Gladiator robot forced its way into the hall to follow.

* * *

In the shuttle hanger, RC grabbed her head and detached it from her chassis before sending it down on the floor in front of Marcus. **"This is my SERE Kit, Moore,"** said the Titan as the body kneeled down. **"I'll be deactivated and offline when you take my AI out of the SERE Kit."**

Marcus nodded and kneeled down. "Okay, I-I'll see you when I'm done," he said before grabbing the SERE Kit - AKA her head.

 **"To perform the maintenance, you'll have to be looking at me and seeing what you're doing."**

"It's a figure of speech."

 **"I see. Processing and storing this information into my databank,"** RC said. Her eye narrowed and Marcus wanted until she was down. **"Complete."** RC's optic suddenly widened to its fullest. Startled, Marcus lets go as a latch on both sides of the SERE Kit flipped up. With a hiss of steam, two trays pulled out.

Marcus moved the Kit to look at the tray on the right side and gasped. There was not one, but two Smart Pistol MK6s. "Quinton, you son a bitch," Marcus said with a grin. Knowing that his master would have done modifications to have two Smart Pistols in the Kit.

He reached in and with a snap of the safety leaver that kept in, before pulling out the heavy pistol.

To those not involved in his home's war, it looked like a heavily modified handgun. But it wasn't. Smart Pistols were automatic lock-on target primary handguns that were only used by the most elite Pilots in the system. Upgrades from the MK5 include a reciprocating charging handle, frame integrated ammo counter, multi-function Laser Aiming Module (LAM), improved ergonomics, an integrated stand-off muzzle, as well as improvements to the targeting capabilities.

"You're coming with me, buddy," Marcus said, placing the gun on the ground next to him. He then looked into the other tray and pulled out another Data Knife. "I'll put you back when I'm done." Marcus placed the knife on the ground and the SERE Kit closed up. After that, RC's optic - her very AI core put out of its socket. Marcus pulled it out and looked at where her Core had her serial number, RC-2049.

Setting her between his legs, Marcus started to fix the inside of the socket. It only took a second to resolve the problem.

Suddenly, he heard one of the shuttle elevators turn on. Snapping up his head, Marcus was confused when one of the shuttles raised up. He stared at it for a moment, before looked around the hangar to see who had summoned the shuttle. "Hello? Guys?" The Pilot called out.

There was this ominous feeling in the hanger as he was all alone. The shuttle turned on. Knowing that something was wrong, Marcus placed RC's AI core into his cargo pocket. He then grabbed the Smart Pistol and Data Knife. His own knife was still in his bedroom. Standing up, he stalked cautiously towards the shuttle.

"Hello?" He asked again, looking into the cockpit as he drew closer. But no one was in it.

The shuttle's engines turned on, and it started to hover above the floor. Marcus' eyes were widened behind the helmet as he watched the ship move off the pad and go in front of the Pilot. The two stayed still, with Marcus trying to figure out what was going on.

"The fuck?"

The shuttle rushed at him, and Marcus' eyes widened and yelled in terror.

* * *

Back in the detainment room, Shiro remained unaware of the chaos that was going on as he stands before Sendak's pod. Getting impatient, he placed his arm on the glass and said, "I know you're in there, Sendak. I know you have all the answers. Give them to me."

There was no response from the sleeping Galra commander nor the memory storage system. In frustration, Shiro slammed his fist on Sendak's pod. "You're a broken soldier! You can't hold out forever!" He yelled his insults.

This apparently got a response as a memory finally entered the storage system. Purple liquid going into the device from where it was connected to the pod. Seeing this got Shiro's attention and he smirked slightly. "So, you can hear me."

* * *

Coran had finished the second to last cryo-pod and was about to start working on the last one. He turned to the pod, the one that Lance was trapped in. The sight of the frozen young man made the advisor give out a startled scream. Coran pressed the button to open the pod, releasing Lance from it.

With his skin a shade of blue and stiff from the cold, Lance whimpered as he stepped out of the cryo-pod while shivering and shaking. "This pod just shut on me and locked me in, while you were rambling on about boot camp!" He yelled at Coran, holding his arms.

"You sure you didn't just trip and fall in? No judgment. It happens." Coran said with his hands on his hips. Lance just sat down to put back on his coat for warmth. "Besides, why would the pod automatically lock and start the cryogenic freezing process?"

After putting back on his coat, Lance waved his arms around and yelled, "To kill me!"

"Don't get your boots in a bunch. My guess is they're malfunctioning," Coran said with his arms crossed. Refusing to believe it.

"Okay, I'm gonna float this out there," Lance exclaimed and crossed his arms, too. "I think this Castle is haunted."

Coran twisted and pulled his mustache. "The ship might seem like a fantastical, magical creature to you, but it's really just a big embodiment of advanced supernatural technology that cannot be explained by science alone," he said, resulting in Lance raising an eyebrow at him. Looking at the alien advisor in disbelief. It took a moment for Coran to process what he said and when he really thought about it, he realized that just sounded like it was haunted. "Well, that does make it seem a bit haunted, doesn't it? Ah, but it's not. Trust me, nothing out of the ordinary is happening here."

He then turned and walked away to leave. After Coran left to handle other duties, Lance sat alone in the sleep chamber struggling to get warm. He was startled when he heard rumbling of the Castleship that only fuels his fears. He then started to whimper, "I'm okay. I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay..."

The pod he had been trapped in suddenly descended into the floor, causing Lance to scream and flee the chamber in terror.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Castle of Lions, Allura was asleep in her room next to the Altean Mice. Laying in the same position that Marcus left her in. Soundlessly asleep, nothing disturbed her. But then, there was a familiar voice that echoed.

"Allura..." a moment later, and the hologram of King Alfor appeared. Sitting on Allura's bed. "Allura..."

Hearing the faint voice, Allura was awaked by the mice squeaking in fright. She moaned before opening her eyes to see her father sitting there.

"Allura, dear daughter..."

"Father, what are you doing here?" asked the princess, sitting up a little.

* * *

"WOAH!" Marcus screamed as jumped out of the way, and the shuttle slammed into the wall. He landed and started running away from the ship as it pulled away from the wall, it's front damaged, and turned to him before rushed at him again. "Hello?! Does anyone copy?! I need help!" He yelled into the radio, before ducking down to the ground as the shuttle swooped over him like a hawk.

For the past few minutes, he's been trying to survive and get away from the shuttle that was trying to hit him. Jumping out of the away and simply wanting to not get killed. Without his Jump Kit, there was no way that he was going to fight back against it.

Marcus then looked at his Titan. She was the only one that could destroy the shuttle and save his sink. Panting, he looked back at the shuttle as it turned and flew up. It then looped around and speeded down at Marcus on as he was on his back.

"Oh crap!" He yelled and rolled out of the way as the shuttle slammed headfirst into the floor. Leaving a large dent and further damaging the front. Marcus ran over RC's SERE Kit and slammed her AI core into the socket.

As it took back in the core, Marcus heard the shuttle and looked back to it. The ship was straightening out and preparing to charge at him again. All the Pilot had was his Smart Pistol and a Data Knife. He had no anti-Titan weapon. There was no way of him taking it on on his own.

The shuttle speeded towards him, only for his Titan's chassis grabbed the shuttle, smashed it on the ground, before using her hidden blade to tear it apart. Making it explode.

Marcus shielded his face when the shuttle exploded. He looked up at his Titan as it stood over him. **"Are you alright, Pilot?"** Marcus heard RC's voice down below and looked down to see her AI core back to being her eye.

"I'm fine. More or less," he said while picking up the SERE Kit and holding it out to the Titan body. It grabbed the SERE and reattached it. RC was now whole again.

 **"Why did you get attacked by one of the shuttles?"** asked the Titan.

Shaking his heads, Marcus panted as he stared at the destroyed shuttle. "I don't know. The Castle brought it up and it just started trying to kill me," he said walking over to where his armor plates were. He was still without his Jump Kit, but he'll go get it when he's done with RC. "There was no one even piloting it, RC."

 **"Stand by, I'm detecting an anomaly from within the ship."** RC walked up to the wall of the hanger and placed her hand on it. It only took a second before she turned her body sideways to turn her head back to Marcus. **"My scanners are picking up a virus inside of the Castleship."**

"A virus? What kind of virus?" Marcus said, now sounding concerned.

 **"One that's similar to the Galra crystal when the enemy plugged it into the ship,"** RC said, taking her hand off the wall and walked back to her Pilot. **"Probable effect is that it's infected the Castle worse than what was previously predicted."**

"Then we'll have to warn the others!" Marcus exclaimed, before pointing down the large tunnel that goes down to the Green Lion's launch station. "Go to Pidge and warn her about the virus. I'll go get the others and alert Allura!" He then turned on his heel and ran out of the hanger into the hallway, and the Titan started running down the pathway to Pidge.

* * *

Lance had left the sleep chamber and was nervously walking through the Castleship's halls with his arms crossed. Still shaken up by getting trapped in the cryo-pod, he was startled when the lights in front of him began to flicker and then completely turning off.

"Okay, okay... Oh... Ah—!" He yelped when he saw something in front of him. It had the appearance of a man standing at the end of the hallway far from him. Lance whimpered fearfully, before hearing the sound of crackling electricity. "Coran, is that you? Okay, stop messing with me, guys. This isn't funny," he said, still greatly scared.

"Help! Help!" Called out a voice down the dark hallway.

That was Coran's voice. "Hello? Coran?" Lance called out before rushing down the hallway. Stopping when he came to a 3-way intersection in the hallway. He didn't know which hallway Coran's voice was coming from.

"Help! Somebody!" Called Coran again, this time sounding more distorted. Lance looked down the left hallway to see a flashing red light coming from one of the ship's airlocks. "I'm trapped in the airlock." But the reality is that Coran wasn't in the airlock, and the voice was being created by a loudspeaker in the airlock.

"I'm coming!" Lance exclaimed and ran to the airlock to assist. When the door opened, he ran into the airlock. But there was no one there. Confused, the Blue Paladin walked further in and looked around.

The door suddenly closes behind him.

"Huh?" Lance turned around to see the door shut. Thinking that it was a joke from the others, he smirked and shrugged. "Okay, ha-ha. Good joke. You guys got me. Nice," he said, laughing it off.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when the alarm in the airlock started to blare. Then the computer said, _"Airlock opening in 30 ticks."_

This scared Lance and he started to panic again. "Okay, joke's over! You got me!"

 _"...29, 28, 27..."_

"Guys? Guys! Eugh!" Lance ran to the door and started to pound on the glass. "Help!"

* * *

In the detainment room, Shiro begins interrogating Sendak for information. "What was the first rank you held in Zarkon's army? Where did you find the Red Lion," he demanded, glaring at the alien as the memory device collected more of Sendak's memories. But it wasn't much, and so the Black Paladin tried to ask him to speed up the process. "What is Zarkon's greatest weakness?"

"What makes you think you can possibly defeat him?"

Shiro let out a startled gasp when he heard Sendak's voice echoing throughout the detainment room. He looked around the room with eyes widened. However, Sendak remained unmoving and asleep. Why was he hearing the Galran commander's voice? Realizing that he was getting a response from Sendak, he turned back to the prisoner and asked, "If you were to attack Zarkon, where would you strike?"

There was silence as first. The only sound made were those of the particles in the pod.

"Why strike at all when you can join him?"

With his face sweating bullets, Shiro started to panic as he looked around. His mind getting ensnared by the supernatural occurrence and his body freezing up in fear.

Suddenly an image of Sendak's eyes opening flashed in Shiro's mind. Startling him and making him back up with a gasp. But Sendak was still asleep. What was going on?

* * *

In the hanger of the Green Lion, Pidge was working on her project with Hunk's assistant. She typed away on her computer researching as she studied Sendak's crystal as it was hooked up to her electronics. "I bet if we can modulate the dynamics of this crystal, we'll be able to reverse engineer a lot of Galra tech," she said to Hunk. But Hunk didn't give a response."Don't you think, Hunk?" Pidge looked at him and was annoyed to see him staring off randomly into space. "Hunk, are you paying attention?"

"What?" Hunk looked back at her, snapping out of his little world. Pidge sighed and walked over to the crystal. "No, I'm sorry. That whole food goo ambush really set me on edge, Pidge. If we can't trust food, we are lost as a culture," he said as the small girl crawled up onto the crystal.

She checked the connects on it while telling Hunk, "Relax. I'm sure the Castle's just glitchy. It's 10,000 years old."

Hunk crossed his arms and turned his head right to left. "Yeah, it does seem like the ship is not currently trying to kill us."

"Okay, so, all the sensors are on the crystal. Hit the switch," Pidge instructed Hunk with her hands on her hips. However, after Hunk started walking to the computer, the two of them heard loud stomps coming to them. Looking to where they were coming from, the Paladins were confused to see RC running towards them. "RC?"

 **"Paladin Pidge and Hunk, stop!"** RC commanded as she rushed into the hanger. Slowing down, she walked over to the crystal. Frightening Pidge with her massive, threatening size. **"Scans of the Castleship indicate that the crystal is corrupting the ship."**

But right when she was within her large arm's reach, the gravity in the hanger was suddenly turned off. The two humans and Titan floated off the ground.

"Hunk, did you accidentally hit the anti-gravity switch," asked the Green Paladin.

 **"This is no anti-gravity switch."**

"Yeah! W-Which I also knew," Hunk said randomly, even though he really didn't.

Pidge then tried to reach and grab onto the crystal. Grunting as it was out of her reach. "Curse my short arms!" She yelled and gave up.

RC reached with her right arm, grabbed the crystal, and crushed it in her hand with ease. The moment it was shattered and destroyed, both Pidge and Hunk looked at the crystal with wide eyes. Even when the Titan lets go of the shards and let them float around in the air.

"Thank you, RC," Pidge said. The Titan then reached and grabbed both Paladins. Holding them as used her thrusters to stay straight.

"So, what now?" asked Hunk, before his stomach started to rumbles. "Oh, I'm hungry again. I hope some food goo comes oozing out of these walls."

* * *

After leaving the hanger, Marcus was running as fast as he could down the hallway towards Allura's room. His Smart Pistol in his grip as his holster already had the Wingman in it. He knew that it wasn't going to be needed, but with the ship going on the frits, Marcus wanted to be prepared. But then he stopped when he heard someone yelling down another hallway. It was muffled, but thanks to the headset inside of the helmet, it was amplified to make it easier for him to hear.

"I'm getting sucked out into space!" That was Lance's voice. And down he was screaming and there was also the sound of blades clashing.

"Lance? Lance, I'm coming!" Marcus shouted and ran in the direction. When he rounded the corner, he saw Keith fighting with a Gladiator robot in front of the airlock. From the airlock, he heard Lance's screaming.

Knowing that he had to help, Marcus raised the Smart Pistol to put it at the Gladiator. He didn't aim down the iron sight, but allowed the Smart Pistol to get three lock-on targets on the Gladiator's head.

"Keith, duck!" Marcus shouted. Keith looked over his shoulder to see the Pilot aiming at the robot. Keith jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a swing from the robot.

Marcus then fired, three times. The pistol giving off its unique sound, before each shot hits the Gladiator in the head. Destroying it and it fell over.

Keith then ran over to the airlock as Lance hanging on for dear life to not get sucked out into space. He pressed the top button, which shut the second door in the airlock, then the bottom button that opened the first door. Allowing Lance to crawl out of the airlock, panting and shaken up.

As Keith and Lance sit up against the wall, panting and sighing, Marcus ran over to them. "What the hell was going on?" He exclaimed.

"What were you doing out there?" Keith yelled at Lance.

"Who was that guy?" Lance yelled at Keith

"He was trying to kill me!"

"Well, is he the Castle? Because that's who's trying to kill me!"

"Guys!" Marcus yelled getting both of their attentions. "The Castle has a virus from Sendak's crystal," he told them before starting to continue running towards Allura's room. "Go find Coran and tell him what happened."

Keith and Lance glanced at each other. "Where are you going?" asked the Red Paladin.

"To tell Allura!" Marcus yelled after slowing down and turning around to look at them. "Go before something else tries and kills you!"

Lance and Keith shared another glance, before screaming and ran off.

As he was running to her room, Marcus tried the radio again to call her. "Allura, this is Marcus! We've got a major problem. The Castle's been corrupted by Sendak's crystal," he said into the communicator. But he didn't get a response. Radios were still being jammed. Marcus growled in frustration. "Damnit!"

About a minute later, he reached Allura's room. Marcus pounded on the door. "Allura! Allura, wake up!" He shouted. His heard was racing. Fearing that the Castle would have done something to her. When there was no response, he slammed his hand on the button to open the door and rushed in.

"Allura?!" He yelled when he ran in. His hands clenched on his Smart Pistol to use it. On guard, he scanned around the room. Looking to the bed, the Pilot saw the mice standing at the end of the bed, looking at him. But there was no princess in the bed. She wasn't anywhere in the room.

Marcus gasped as his hands fell to his sides.

* * *

A few minutes, however, before Marcus got to the room. Allura was back in the hologram of the Altean field. This was generated by King Allor, who conjured the hologram in the bedroom. As the two Alteans sat down, Allura plucked one of the flowers and blew the petals into the wind. Watching them fly. "Altean flowers are the most beautiful," said her father, watching the artificial flower petals too.

Allura smiled sadly at the now petalless stem she was holding. "It is sad that I will only see them in my dreams," she said, slightly frowning. "But, when I wake, my memories are like these spores, scattered in the wind."

"Altea is not merely a dream, Allura. It still exists," King Alfor said, before plucking another flower and holding it out to his daughter. "The Alteans flower, you can see it. You can touch it." Allura smiled and took the flower from him. "I can take you there. I can take you home."

This confused the princess looked up at him. "You can?"

"Would you like to go home?"

Allura was quiet for only a moment, before smiling hopefully. "Yes. I want to go back to Altea, Father," she said. The dead king then stood up.

"Then come with me, and I will show you the way."

* * *

Back in the Green Lion's hanger, RC was still holding onto the two Paladins and they were still floating in the air. Just then, the door opened. This somehow brought back on the gravity and the Titan landed on the ground. Making the humans grunt, before RC placed them down on the ground.

The door opened when Lance, Keith, and Coran walked in. When they saw the others, Lance demanded, "How can you guys be playing around while this castle is trying to kill us?"

"Playing around? We've been floating around in Zero-G! You know how scary that is?" Hunk exclaimed with a fearful expression.

"That's not scary! That's fun!" Lance snapped angrily. "I was almost ejected into space!"

"I got attacked by killer food, and that's the most horrifying thing you can imagine! The stuff of nightmares! It'll haunt me to my grave!" Hunk yelled, but no one had the same feel nor had sentiment for him. All looking at him with unimpressed looks

"Well, I had a robot trying to kill me!" Keith yelled.

 **"Moore was nearly rammed by one of the shuttles,"** RC said, kneeling to get closer to their level. She didn't have a reason to get involved with the teams bantering, but her programming was telling the Titan to report the incident.

Lance then looked to Coran and said, "I don't care what you say, Coran. This castle has gone apples and bananas!"

"Perhaps the infection from Sendak's Galra crystal is worse than we thought," Coran groaned, looking at the

 **"The crystal is now destroyed,"** RC said.

"That wouldn't matter. It's too late," Coran said before starting to explain. "When Sendak plugged it into the ship, it corrupted the entire system."

"Sendak?" Keith asked. His eyes then widened in fear. "Wait. Has anyone seen Shiro?"

* * *

As the Paladins were in the hanger and Marcus found that Allura wasn't in her room, things in the detainment room were starting to get intense for Shiro. His face was sweating more, as he listened to Sendak's voice.

"We're connected, you and me. Both part of the Galra Empire."

"No! I'm not like you," Shiro said, staring at the commander in fear.

"You've been broken and reformed. Just look at your hand."

Shiro paused and looked at his artificial hand. Was that true? Was he really apart of the Empire. He shook his head and yelled, "That's not me!"

"It's the strongest part of you. Embrace it. The others don't know what you know. They haven't seen what you've seen. Face it. You'll never beat Zarkon. He's already defeated you."

"I'm not listening to you!" Shiro shouted, covering his ears with his hands. Desperately

"Do you really think a monster like you could be a Voltron Paladin?"

"Stop it!" Shiro yelled, punching the cryo-pod. The glass broke and crunched as he panted. Shiro then lifted his head and looked up at Sendak's face. He was still sleeping.

Suddenly he gave Shiro a bloodcurdling smile.

Shiro screamed with wide, fear-filled eyes and slammed the button. The pod ejected out of the Castle into the cold darkness of space. Leaving Shiro alone, leaning against the device, panting and looking at the ground with a shellshock look, as the alarms blared.

Just then, Marcus came running into the room and saw Shiro in his state. "Shiro!" Marcus called out worriedly before running up to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you alright? What's wrong." He then looked at where Sendak used to be and saw he was gone. "Where's Sendak?"

"I... I had to get him out of here," Shiro said in a shaky, traumatized voice. "I was hearing his voice. He... He can't be trusted on this ship."

Marcus looked at the place the pod was for a moment, before looking back to Shiro. "He's gone now, but we've still got the ship to worry about," he explained to the former Titan Pilot. "The ship's been corrupted by Sendak's crystal and has been trying to kill us."

There was then a beeping from the computer behind them. Turning towards it, they looked up at a holographic screen and it showed the ship going to be entering a wormhole.

Knowing that only Allura could have Marcus placed his hand on his earpiece and said, "RC, guys, heads up! The ship is making a jump!" He and Shiro starting running out of the room to get to the control room.

* * *

The hologram that King Alfor had Allura in now showed them in a ballroom. There were no lights on, but Allura knew where she was and it made her smile. "I remember how you used to dance around this very ballroom," King Alfor said. "I can still hear you giggling."

"Oh... Those were happy memories," Allura said with a smile.

"We can create new memories, Allura," King Alfor said. He reached out a hand to her. Allura looked up at him and smiled. She reached out and takes his hand. But that's where the hologram stopped. The reality was that she'd placed her hand on the two small pillars that controlled the Castle.

This activated the Castle, and she sent the coordinates that the King was telling her. The Castle conjured the wormhole in front of it. She flew the ship into it and made the jump.

A few seconds into the jump, the door opened and Marcus, the Paladins, and Coran all came into the control room. "Allura, what's going on?" Shiro asked.

Allura turned her head to look over her shoulder at the humans and her advisor. "We're going to Altea. We're going home. My father is taking us," she said with a smile. Believing everything that the A.I. was telling her. This made everyone's eyes widened.

Marcus walked towards her. "Allura, what're you talking about? Altea's been destroyed - "

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" King Alfor's hologram yelled as he appeared on all of the window screens of the control room. Forming a barrier around her that Marcus bumped into it. He and the others looked around in shock.

"Allura, wake up!" Marcus yelled running up to the barrier and started to bang on it. Trying to get her to look back at him. King Alfor disappeared from the screens and reappeared standing next to her. Marcus turned around to look at Coran. "What's going on with him?"

"The crystal must have corrupted King Alfor's artificial intelligence," Coran explained with urgency. "It's taking over!" The team could only watch and wait to see where the ship would be taking them.

They didn't have to wait long. In a flash of bright light, they arrived. But instead of a planet, they were now drifting towards a star. To make things worse, it's turned into a red super-giant. Meaning that approaches the end of its life. Soon its massive dense core is bound to collapse under its own weight. And when that happens, it'll go supernova!

The team looked at the red super-giant with terrified eyes. "We're headed straight for a star and it's about to explode!"

But to Allura, the barrier projected something else. In the star's place was her beloved home planet of Altea. It was a planet blooming with the beauty of its purple juniberry flowers, and the Altean race had built a civilization with impressive technology seemingly unexplainable by science alone. Altea had several artificial megastructural rings encircling it, all equally separated from each other.

"Father, I can see Altea," she said to her father.

Marcus started to pound on the barrier again. "Allura! Allura, wake up!" He yelled, getting her attention and she turned to the side. "What you're seeing isn't real."

But before she turned her head towards, Allura saw some alien birds fly by her. Then she was back in the juniberry field. "The juniberries, the most exquisite flower of all," she said, picking up a flower.

In a desperate move, Marcus pulled out his second Data Knife and stabbed the blade against the barrier. The area around the blade started to glitch, and he yelled. "Allura, please!" His knife was breaking through the illusion and his body glitched into existence. "You've got to listen to me!"

Allura stared at Marcus's glitching body, starting to doubt that what she was seeing was real. "Is this real?" she asked, still staring at Marcus.

"Of course it is real, Daughter. That flower you're touching is real," said King Alfor.

At first, Allura started to continue believing her A.I. father when Marcus. "Allura! Listen to me! Don't you remember? Zarkon destroyed your home! That's why your fighting!" Marcus yelled, before taking his knife off the barrier. "Can you even smell the juniberries?"

Allura stood there for a moment, listening to him. She then looked down at the flower in her hand. The princess lifted it to her nose and sniffed.

Nothing. She couldn't smell its sweet fragrance. This broke the illusion of the hologram and when Allura looked outside the Castle she saw they were heading straight for the red super-giant. The homeworld she loved was gone and her eyes widened. "That's not Altea," she said.

"When that star goes supernova, it will destroy the entire system," Pidge explained, urgently. "Allura, you must reset the course and get us out of here!"

Allura nodded and ran up to the controls and placed her hands on the pillars. But she yelled in pain when they shocked her and fell away. Marcus caught her when she stumbled out of the barrier. Trapping her out of getting to the controls. That's when her father's hologram appeared at the controls.

This made Allura place her hands on the force field and begged, "Father, please, I beg you to turn this ship around. If we don't do it soon, we will all perish!"

"I know," King Alfor replied. "That is my intention."

"What?" Allura exclaimed. "Why?"

"Don't you see, dear daughter?" he asked. His voice starting to sound distorted and his body glitching. "Zarkon can never be defeated. He's been ruling for ten thousand years."

"But we must continue to fight!"

"Fight for what?" He asked in his distorted voice and turned to slightly face the team. Marcus looking at him in disbelief what the King was saying as he continued. "It is all over for Altea. You don't have to live a lifetime of war. You can be with me and the rest of your people."

"Father, please!" Allura yelled, trying to reason with her father. "The Paladins, Marcus, RC and I can still stop Zarkon! Somewhere in there, you must want that to happen."

King Alfor's glitched again. When he reformed, his demeanor and tone changed. "Allura, my A.I. has been corrupted. You must disconnect my power source," he told her before glitching back to how he was before. "We can stroll across the Blossom Canyon every morning, just like we used to. Remember how much you loved that?"

She looked down sadly. Knowing what she had to do. "I remember. I'll see you soon, Father," Allura said. She then turned to others with a determined look. "I've got to get into the A.I. chamber to disconnect my father's power source manually."

The others looked at her with concern as Coran said, "But that means losing King Alfor forever!"

Allura was silent for a moment, before putting on her commander persona.e "Paladins, get to your Lions! I need you to slow the Castle's descent into the star," she ordered the Paladins and ran to go to the A.I. chamber. Marcus ran behind her to follow, as Shiro and the other humans ran to their lions.

"I can try to override the system to open the hangars," Coran said and ran over to his station.

Coran was successful and the Lions and RC flew out o the Castle of Lions. Flying towards the front of the ship, the Paladins and Titan pushed up against the ship and sent their afterburners to full power to push back against it. Slowing down the ship from the red super-giant.

* * *

Marcus followed Allura into the memory chamber as they ran to the controls. "Marcus, I'll need you to use your Data Knife to bypass the security system of the terminal," she said to the Pilot. Stopping to let the human go past her.

"Okay!" Marcus pulled out the Data Knife from the SERE Kit and stabbed it into a slot on the control pad. It took only a few seconds for the knife to unlock the system and the memory pod that contained all of King Alfor's memories raised out of the ground. "Okay, it's all-"

He was suddenly hit with electricity from the control. Marcus yelled in pain as he was sent flying back. Passing Allura as she watched him with wide eyes hit the ground hard.

"Marcus!" She yelled with a worried look.

Then King Alfor's hologram appeared. At first, it was his distorted, corrupt form. "Don't do this!" He yelled, before turning to his good self. "You must." His body glitched to the corrupted vision again. "All my memories, all my knowledge will be lost forever!" Then back to his normal self. "Do it, Allura. If you are to live, we must say goodbye."

Allura's face saddened even more, before she grabbed the Data Knife and pulled it out of the terminal. "I'm sorry about this, Father," she said and prepared to stab the A.I.'s memory pod.

But right when she was about to take the plunge and destroy the pod, Allura gasped when it started to glow blindingly bright and everything went black.

Marcus groaned as he sat up and placed his hand on his head. He took notice of the room was all black, but then something else happened. He saw countless colorful floating ball shattered everywhere. He watched one of them and saw a memory of King Alfor with Allura when she was much younger in his arms. Both laughing.

He got up and turned to look at Allura. She was standing in the middle of them all. Allura was also surprised by the memories. Looking at her younger self and her father laughing happily. There was another one that had her on his shoulders, putting a juniberry behind his ear as she giggled.

"This is not real. This is all in the past," Allura said to try and remain strong. Gripping the Data Knife hard in both hands. Accidentally pressing the button that ejected the circuitry to the tip of the knife.

Allura started jogging forward, panting as she ran passed the memories of her father before the war. The life she's lived. She tripped over something and grunted, but kept going. Allura heard herself laughing in a memory, but blocked it out. But then another memory appeared in front of her and the sound of a baby cooing made her stop and gasp. It was her when she was born, and her father holding her in his arms.

Backing away slowly, Allura couldn't take it anymore. She tried to stop the tears, but they were streaming down her face as light sobs were let out. Holding the Data Knife to her chest. Every fiber in her heart was telling her to not go through with it.

"You don't have to fight, Allura," King Allura said as he appeared. The memories disappeared while he walked up to her. His voice distorted. "You don't have to make this sacrifice."

Allura did the only this she could. Ran to him. With her left arm, she wrapped it around King Alfor, and with her right hand, stabbed the Data Knife into the hologram.

King Alfor grunted when he was stabbed. Slowly letting go of the knife, she brought her other arm around her father's A.I. in a hug. With her closed eyes still leaking tears, she said her final goodbyes. "Goodbye, Father."

As cracks of yellow light started to spread all over his body, King Alfor looked down at his daughter. "Goodbye, Allura," he said, before wrapping his arms around her.

The A.I. pod then shattered into pieces. The Data Knife falling down to the ground as Allura fell to her knees. Marcus and Allura watched as the memories floated up before disappearing.

* * *

In the Bridge, Coran watched as King Alfor's A.I. and the barrier surrounding the controls disappeared. He looked heartbroken seeing this and knowing what had happened. "She did it." The alarms started to blaring and holographic warning signs appeared on the holographic screen. Coran ran to the control panel and tried to take control.

Out in space, RC and the Paladins were still pushing against the ship. Then their screens popped up and Allura appeared on them. _"Paladins, get your hangers! We're getting out of here!"_

RC and the Lions moved away and flew back into the hangers. The ship turned around and a wormhole then opened up for them. Sending the Castle into full throttle, and just in the nick of time. The star had finally run out of nuclear fuel.

The core collapsed in on itself and then the giant explosion came.

The Castle shot straight through the wormhole, just before the shockwaves could get them. Leaving the supernova to destroy all around it.

* * *

A hours later, after they were all safe from the supernova, and the team gave her their condolences, Allura was the only one in the control room. Giving the other the chance to get some much-needed rest. They protested at first, as she was the one that needed to still recuperate. But the princess insisted. The Paladins and Coran reluctantly agreed. So she was alone, standing at the controls in silence. Her face carried with it a mournful expression.

"Mind if I join you?"

Allura gasped as she snapped out of her thoughts and she turned to see Marcus standing at the open doorway. He was still in his Pilot gear, but had his helmet under his left arm. He gave her an empathetic smile. Allura looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "Of course not, Marcus," she said, and Marcus started walking over to her. "I've...been waiting for a moment to talk to you."

Marcus smiled hummably. "I don't know if I'll have anything interesting to tell," he said, stopping next to her.

The two were silent for a moment, watching the stars and space itself.

"May I ask; why did you want to be a Titan Pilot, Marcus?" she asked.

Marcus glanced at her before recalling when he wanted to fight for the Frontier. "It was during the Battle of Harmony. I was all alone, a would have died, but then a Pilot and his Titan saved me. I watched them fight, and...I just knew that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to fight with the best," he said, with a smile. "What about Altea? What's it like?"

"It... _was_ so beautiful," Allura said sad, remembering the sight of the planet in the hologram.

There was another moment of silence. The Pilot looked down at the down slightly, before starting to speak. "Allura, I..." Marcus paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "Allura, I'm not going to pretend to know how you feel. You know, I've lost people I care about, but, nothing like what you've lost."

Allura looked at him with a touched expression. She took her hands off the pillars and said, "Thank you. But that was not my father. The _real_ King Alfor was a great man and a great father. He may not be here with us anymore, but his dream lives on through all of us, and his legacy is Voltron."

Marcus stared as she said this and smiled. "You say that as if there wasn't anything else he left behind. I mean, Voltron isn't his only legacy," he said. Allura wiped her head to him with wide eyes. "You're his daughter, after all."

After staring for a moment at the handsome young man, she nodded. Marcus then pulled out the Data Knife from the SERE Kit.

"There something I wanted to show you." He walked up to Coran's control station. Allura was confused and wounded what he was going to do. She followed him as he insisted the Data Knife into the pad. A small holographic screen the size of a tablet appeared and Allura gasped.

On the screen was a slide show of the memories of her father.

"Wha...? How?" Was the only response she could let out.

"When you stabbed the knife into the pod, you must have pressed the trigger to activate the circuitry," he said, pointing out the button on the weapon. "It collected as much of the information as it could and stored it in a file. It's not a lot, but these are King Alfor's memories."

Allura's eyes widened and looked at the images as they played out in the slideshow. She then slowly grabbed the handle and pulled the knife out the console and turned to Marcus. Hesitantly, she held it out to him. "I can't take this," she said sadly."

Marcus took the Data Knife and told her, "I'll have Pidge transfer the memories to an external drive for you." He sheathed the knife.

He suddenly grunted when Allura suddenly ran into him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She lightly sobbed with a slight smile. "Thank you."

Marcus smiled and hugged her back. "Don't mention it," he said before pulling away. "I'll let you have the Bridge to yourself." The Pilot turned and walked away from the princess. Allura smiled as she watched him.

"When you bring it, I..." Allura blushed with a sheepish smile and rubbed her hands. Trying to avert looking at him in the eyes. "...I like to continue our conversation."

Marcus blushed a little, scratching the back of his head. "I'd like that," he said, before waving and leaving the Bridge.

Allura placed a hand on her heart, feeling it thumping in her chest. Her cheeks were still blushing, and that same feeling she felt when Sendak took over the Castle returned. She then looked back to the window and stared at the stars. What Marcus said was true. The princess and Voltron were her father's legacy, and she will continue the fight to the end.

* * *

 **AN: We return to "Become ONE" again and it felt like I was writing a Quentin Tarantino movie. With intersecting stories and plots that were out of order.**

 **So, with the Smart Pistol, Marcus is a little OP. If you played both _Titanfall_ games, you know that it's one of the strongest and annoying weapons in the game. It's a headshot aimbot weapon that is easy to get a lot of kills to get without really trying. That's why it was also annoying.**

 **I've been getting some requests for Marcus to save King Alfor's A.I. but I just didn't think that would help with the plot and Allura's development as a character. She was manipulated by the hologram into seeing an illusion that she really wished was real, by the A.I. of her father that is not with her anymore. Allura had to make the difficult decisions to let her father go to survive. But that doesn't mean he has to be completely gone. So, with the Data Knife, she accidentally saved some of the memories into the knife and Marcus will be able to give them to her. Even if it wasn't his full A.I., it's more than enough.**

 **And this gave Marcus and Allura more fluff moments. That's what I wanted the most from the chapter. To have the two more moments together.**

 **Also, I know nothing about when stars go supernova and just tried to used what I learned when I looked it up.**

 **The next chapter is "Collection and Extraction", the second to last chapter of season 1.**

 **Thank you very much for reading. "Become ONE" will return. Please be sure to Favorite and Follow if you like the story, and also Review it. If you any questions or discussions you'd have for me, then please in a Review or a PM me.**

 **Thank you for reading, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.**


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